IS Naruto's Freedom
by alchemists19
Summary: Naruto is heading to IS academy, he is flying a machine that is made by him and he is planning to take the school by storm. Fights and pranks are abound and will Naruto survive all the females? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

IS, Infinate Stratos, A machine that changed the world. They were first developed for space exploration. Designed by Tabane Shinonono, they possess technology and combat capabilities far more advanced than any other weapon system, thus threatening to destabilize the world. So, the world created the Alaska Treaty to solve that problem. All existing IS technology was distributed evenly around the world and even became a much watched sport. The most surprising thing about IS was that it could only be piloted by women.

It has been two years since that fateful day. We come to a large building that is surrounded by wide fields that could be used for testing. At the front gate of the complex is a sign that reads Konoha Industries. This was a small, family-run, IS development company. They are known for their contribution to the programming of the PIC, Passive Inertia Control. At this time, they are working on their design of Zaku, a mass production model that they wish to sell to every government. Suddenly, a loud sound is heard from inside the complex. Soon after, voices fill the air in anger, but if you listen carefully, you can hear laughter.

"NARUTO!" A woman voice yelled as an eight year old boy ran across the grounds, he had spiked, blonde hair that was the color of the sun, striking blue eyes, and three whiskers-like marks on each check. He was laughing his head off as he ran, so proud of his prank. This was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the son of Minato and Kushina Namikaze, the lead engineers, and owners of Konoha industries. He spent most of his time there and only left the complex when his parents left. He was a very curious boy and loved to play pranks. This is why he was running at full speed, hoping to escape punishment.

"Can't catch me slow pokes!" he yelled back at his pursuers and laughed, only to run into something hard and metal. He fell to the ground, and looked up. Standing over him was his mother Kushina, piloting the prototype Zaku. It was a dark red, the shoulders were rounded with spikes, the legs and arms were slime, connected with a cable. Lastly, the black rounded thrusters sported hooks on the sides that held a shield and a blaster rifle.

"NA-RU-TO!" she said, emphasizing each part of his name. She was a tall red-head with green eyes and a lovely smile. She looked at her son with anger. She slowly lifted him off the ground and lifted him to her eye level. "What is the grand idea behind that prank!"

"To make the workers prepared for anything" he said sheepishly.

"No that not it not that." She said with a sweet smile, that made the boy cringe. He tried to come up with an excuse but Kushina wouldn't have any of that. "Not a word," she hissed, and lifted off with him hanging by his collar. She soon landed in front of the lab and sets him down in front of a tall man with sun-kissed blonde hair and striking blue eyes. This was Minato Namikaze, Naruto's father. He was a very smart and determined man. He was the main programmer and engineer there. The Zaku was his design, and he had a hand in every part of it. He looked at his wife then back at his son.

He knelt down and looked his Naruto in the eye. "Naruto," He said. Naruto looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Look at me," he said. He gave him a small frown making, Naruto frown as well.

"Why did you line the break room with orange paint bombs?" he asked his son, but was met with silence. "Naruto, why did you do it?"

Naruto mumbled something that Minato couldn't hear. Minato replied with a stern look. Naruto sighed and looked at his feet, "I was bored." He said finally, as Minato looked at him with disappointment.

"If you're bored, you could help me with making the new blaster," he said looking at Naruto. "You can't prank the employees whenever you feel like it."

Naruto just nodded and looked at the ground, trying not to cry. Minato looked at him and sighed. He pulled him into a hug and held him close. "It ok," he said, "just next time, come to me first when you get the urge to prank someone."

Naruto nodded and was sent to his room. Minato sighed and stood next to Kushina shaking his head. "That boy has too time on his hand for his own good." He said. Kushina nodded in agreement.

"Yes he does," she said, "But he was like me when I was his age."

Minato pulled her close and smiled, "But he's ours." He said and kissed her. Kushina kissed him back and smiled.

"Yes he is" she said, then gave him a stern look, "now, I'd love to stand here and kiss you all day, but we have an IS to build so, back to work." He nodded and started walk towards his work station only for Kushina to smack his butt. She gave him a wink and walked away giving an extra sway to her hips.

"That woman," Minato said and smiled.

-SB-

It was a few days after the prank. Naruto and his dad were in the lab putting together a new thruster attachment for the Zaku. They were both having a great time, enjoying this father and son project. It seemed that Naruto understood IS programming and engineering more than he did any other subject. He was always coming up with unorthodox ideas that they could use to improve the IS. Some of them had even been incorporated into the Zaku design. The pair worked quietly when, suddenly, a rumble shook the lab. Naruto fell down from his chair he was standing, only to be caught by his father.

"You ok kiddo?" he asked Naruto, who just nodded and smiled.

"Yeah I am fine," Naruto said with a smirk, but soon it became a frown, "but what caused me to fall?"

"I don't know," Minato asked with concern. He set Naruto down and patted him on the head. "Stay here, I will go and check it out."

"'Kay," Naruto said getting back up on his chair to begin working again. Minato smiled at his son. "He's going to be a great man when he grows up, I just know it." Minato looked at Naruto once more before heading out to the main area. Soon the sound of shouting and gunfire filled the air. He quickened his pace and entered the security booth at the entrance of the lab. He watched the camera screens and his eyes went wide. They were under attack by three IS. Many of their security personnel were lying on the ground, wounded or dead. He turned to see what else was happening, when he saw a red blur strike one of the attacking IS. It was Kushina, flying the prototype, red Zaku. She had her shield out and brought her axe down onto the attackers. The assailant tried to block the strike, but took the brunt of the hit, making her fall back. Kushina flipped back and put her axe back in her shield and summoned her blaster rifle. She began to fire at the enemy causing them to scatter. Two of the enemies rushed her and engaged her in battle. Kushina dodged blast after blast while returning fire at the same time. Minato couldn't find the third invader and began to switch through the camera angles, only to see her flying towards the lab.

"Damn!" he said, and rushed back into the lab. He activated the automatic security turrets that were mounted outside on the walls. The enemy IS dodged the continuous fire, but soon began to destroy the turrets one by one. Minato knew that the guns would all soon be destroyed. He activated one of the mechanical lifters and equipped it with an experimental blaster they had been working on. He lifted it up and looked around only to watch the lab bay doors burst open. He opened fire at the IS, only for it to dodge. She fired back and disabled the legs of the lifter. Minato jumped out and ran towards the inner lab.

While this was going on, Naruto was still working on the rifle. He heard the sound of gunfire and looked around. He slowly got down from his chair and walked towards the door, peeking around it. He saw his father running towards him and heard the sound of engines close behind. Before he could ask what was going on, Minato ran in and closed the door. Naruto looked up at his father and saw the panic in his eyes.

Naruto was getting scared, "Dad, what is it?" he asked, and Minato looked down at him.

"It's nothing," he said and began to lead Naruto towards the IS Vault, "but I need you to stay in the vault for awhile."

Naruto looked at him with confusion, "Why?"

"Naruto, just do as I say," Minato said, not wanting to deal with his son's attitude at the moment.

"No! Not 'til you tell me what is going on?" Naruto replied, and stood in his place. Minato shook his head in frustration. They didn't have time for this, the door would only keep the IS out for so long. He grabbed Naruto and picked him up, while watching as the lab doors exploded inwards and the enemy IS flew inside. Naruto eyes widened as he watched the IS float in the air.

"Dad, why is there an IS here?" He asked, as Minato stood frozen in place. Minato didn't answer but abruptly broke into a dead sprint towards the vault. The IS pilot saw the pair and flew towards them. Minato reached the vault first and threw Naruto inside. The boy rolled across the ground and rolled into the other prototype Zaku. Minato quickly closed the vault, sealing Naruto inside. Naruto got up and ran to the door.

"Let me out!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, while banging on the door. He looked around and then noticed the view screen that displayed the outside the vault. The vault could only be opened from the outside, so the screen was installed in case someone ever got locked in. They would be able to see who was outside and use the intercom system to get help. His eyes widened as he looked at the scene before him. His father was standing in front of the main computer console and the pilot of the IS was out of her machine, pointing a gun at him. Naruto activated the intercom to hear what was going on.

"Move!" The pilot said with authority, but Minato didn't move.

"No." he stated, "I won't let you take the designs we worked so hard to create."

"That not up to you." She stated. Minato charged and she fired. She missed while his shot hit her in the face. She stumbled back, but he continued his attack. He punched her in the stomach making her double over then kneed her in the face. The pilot was dazed; She didn't expect him to have some combat training, but before she could think of anything else, she again, was punched in the face. Minato watched as she fell to the ground, unconscious, from the assault. He sighed and let his guard down. Naruto cheered as his father walked towards the vault. Naruto saw another IS fly in and head towards Minato. Naruto tried to find the button to activate the two way intercom but couldn't find it.

"Dad look out!" he screamed, but no one heard him. Soon the sound of a gun was heard and Minato fell to the ground, blood spilling out of his body. The second pilot walked over to his bleeding form and looked down at him.

"Y..you…." he said as he turned to look at her. She looked down at him with a blank look on her face before shooting him three more times. She looked down at him for a few more moments before heading over towards the computers. She quickly uploaded the blueprints and picked up the knocked out IS pilot on the ground. She walked out of the lab not looking back. Naruto watched the entire time, tears streaming down his face.

"Dad," he said through his tears, and curled up into a ball. Tears streamed down his face as he lay down on the ground.

Kushina was tired. She had fought with the other IS and lost. A hit from behind resulted in the Zaku losing all power. She watched as they flew towards the lab. Coming out of the Zaku, she had just enough time to watch the three IS fly off into the night. She put her Zaku in standby mode and ran towards the lab. She walked in and looked around. A broken lifter was seen laying, in a heap, on the floor. Burn marks were strewn all over the walls. She walked towards the inner lab and looked inside. A glance at the floor revealed a pool of red.

"Oh no!" she said, and followed the blood. She looked down and saw Minato laying there in his own blood, the life gone from his eyes. She knelt down next to him and held him in her arms. Tears streamed down her face over the death of her husband. As she looked around she saw a small frog wallet left on one of the work tables. She looked around for her son, then looked at the sealed vault. She set her husband down and stood up, the blood all over her legs and arms. She walked to the vault and put in the combination to open it. The door slowly opened with a hiss. She stepped inside and saw Naruto laying on the ground curled up in a ball. She assumed the worst but was relieved when she saw the body move. She moved quickly over to her son and pulled him into her arms.

Naruto felt someone pull him towards them and turned his head and saw his mom. He looked at her and started to cry into her chest.

" . him." He stammered, "They killed him."

She held her son close as he cried, while her own tears mixed with his as the two souls cried over their loss.

-Eight Years later-

"Naruto get out here please," Kushina said as she entered the lab area. It has been eight year since the attack on the complex and it seemed everything had gone back to normal. Kushina looked for her son because he was late for school once again. Ever since that night, he had thrown himself into learning everything about IS, and how to protect one's self. His goal was to one day to fight with an IS so nothing like what had happened eight years ago, would happen again. He was currently working on the new design he had come up a year ago. He had worked on it constantly, but didn't allow anyone else to see the designs. She walked deeper into the lab, heard a loud crash, and saw a small red blur run past.

Naruto ran past and saw his mom out of the corner of his eyes, "hi mom," he said, as he ran past. He turned a corner and saw a small fox with nine tails standing at the end. This was Kyuubi his pet fox. He had found her a year after his father death, half dead. He nursed her back to health and she had been with him ever since. In her mouth was a pair of designs Naruto was working on.

"Come on now, Kyu," Naruto said sweetly, "I need those designs, so just set them down and no one gets hurt."

Kyuubi looked at her owner and snickered. She turned, gave him a tail wave with all nine tails, and ran.

"Damn fox," Naruto said, and ran after her. Kushina watched in amusement as Naruto chased Kyuubi around the lab. A few minutes later Kyuubi stood at Kushina feet, looking up at her. Her eyes saying, "pick me up."

Kushina smiled and picked up the small animal, stroking her fur. Naruto stood in front of her, panting.

"Good, you caught her," he said with relief. He went to reach for the design, only to have his hand smacked away by one of Kyuubi's tails. "Hey!"

"She has the right idea." Kushina said looking at her son, "you need to get out of the lab and socialize."

"I socialize enough." He replied

"Calling part makers doesn't count," Kushina said with a giggle, "also, you're late for school."

Naruto looked at his watched and his eyes bugged, "Aw crap!" he said and ran back to his lab, grabbed his backpack and ran towards the Door. Kyu let's go!"

The fox jumped out of Kushina arms and gave her a nod of thanks before running after her owner. Kushina sighed and shook her head. She headed into the main lab and looked at the researchers, they were working on a new mass production model IS, called the Strike. The main point was to have it able to change equipment midflight similar to the Raphel Revive. This was another invention made to switch weapons during flight. The major difference was that with the Strike, you don't just re-equip one weapon, you re-equip an entire weapon system. If you wanted larger fire power, you equipped the launcher strike. This was a pack that had major fire power. It was equipped with a large blaster that could be used for sniping or as a shotgun. On the shoulder, were missile launchers. Next was the sword Striker. This was a more close-combat oriented. It was equipped with a large sword and a beam boomerang. Finally, there was the Aile Stiker, this was the default mode of the strike. It was equipped with a blaster rifle, shield, and beam saber. They had made a prototype that preformed quite well and it seemed they would soon be ready to present it to the world.

"Well, back to work," she said, and walked towards the main office.

-Later that day-

Naruto was speeding down the road towards home. He was riding an orange and black motorcycle with Kyuubi, resting in his backpack. He was glad to be headed home. He wasn't a big fan of school; It just didn't fit him at all. He could tell you the ins and outs of IS, but English class was a foreign concept to him. So, he was headed home to work on his personal IS design. He planned to reveal it when the others revealed the Strike, but first he had some fine-tuning to do. He pulled into the complex and flashed his access card. He parked his bike, and headed towards his lab.

He entered the lab and went towards his work area. He punched in the code and headed inside. As he set his bag down, the main light came on. It was the IS he designed; It was called the Freedom, it was based on the Strike basic frame, but with his own design. Its legs and arms were slimmer than most IS, allowing for more movement in blocking and attacking. Attached to the hips and shoulders were two blaster cannons. The thrusters were blue and black, and opened like wings. It was equipped with a blaster rifle, a double-sided beam saber, and a shield. Many IS didn't use a physical shield due to the energy shields it was equipped with, but Naruto would rather be safe than sorry. As he ran his hand over the metal of the IS, he smiled.

"Soon, my friend soon," he said with a smile. Kyuubi looked at him and gave him a look like he was crazy. He looked at the fox and sighed, "now, don't give me that look."

Kyuubi turned around and gave him a wave of her tails. Naruto looked at the fox and sighed, "You really need to stop, and you're just as bad as Mom." Kyuubi looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "I will date after I finish, happy?" The fox looked at him for a moment before nodding. Naruto shook his head and sighed, setting to work. He was trying to improve the thruster output so he could get it to go faster. He started his computer and smiled as the system booted up.

"Time to have fun," he said with a smile, and started to type. Naruto became so absorbed in his work he failed to notice the time, and soon the day was almost done. Kushina walked in and set down a bowl of Ramen, the aroma of the food pulling him from his work. He turned and walked over to her with a smile.

"Dinner time already?" he said with surprise. "How time flies."

Kushina looked at her son and nodded, "yes it does, now eat," She ordered, and he did as he was told. Soon the bowl was gone only to be replaced by another. This went on for a while before a stack of seven bowls stood on the table.

Naruto patted his stomach in satisfaction and sighed, "thanks mom," he said with a smile.

Kushina looked at him and pulled him to his feet. "Time to train," she said. Naruto smiled. He had been training in martial arts, guns, and other armed ways of combat since he was nine. He felt that if he could defend himself he could have helped his dad and he would still be alive today. So he followed his mom through the training building stopping in front of the gun locker. He pulled out his key and pulled out a 9mm. pistol, M-16 assault rifle, SR-45 sniper rifle, and finally, a Sega shotgun. His mother set his targets and he proceeded to shoot each one with the different guns. His accuracy was superb and he could hit a target that was about a mile out. Soon he finished with the range and headed towards the main training room. Kushina stood on the other side with a wooden bokken in hand.

"Let's see how much you have improved," she said. Naruto nodded. He pulled a staff from the weapon rack and stood to face her. His feet were spread shoulder width apart, his hand held the staff with about a foot between them. One end of the staff was pointed at Kushina and Naruto smiled.

"Bring it," he said, and Kushina charged. She brought the Bokken down at his head and he blocked with the middle of his staff. He pushed her back, then swung one end of the staff towards her right side. She blocked, and kicked him, only for him to block with the other end of his staff. She pushed off of it and used the momentum to spin, and bring the bokken towards his side. Naruto blocked it, but the force behind the attack caused him to stumble a bit. Kushina pressed her advantage and started to attack her son with as much force as she could. Naruto blocked her attacks and tried to look for an opening, but he saw none. He blocked her next attack and jumped back, creating space so he could breathe, but Kushina wouldn't have it. She rushed her son and knocked the staff away. But, As she tried to strike him with her bokken, he side stepped her and hit her in the stomach with a palm strike. Kushina had the wind knocked out of her and Naruto pressed his attack. He used quick and precise strikes to push Kushina back, not giving her time to raise her weapon. He went for a strike to her stomach, only for her to drop the bokken and grab his arm. She flipped him over her back and he landed hard on the ground. She quickly turned and held the bokken to his neck.

"I win," she said with a smile, while Naruto looked up at her with a frown.

"I get you next time," he said as Kushina helped him off the ground. They headed towards the main lab and Naruto went to his room to change. As he exited his room he felt the building shake. Naruto ran back into the lab area and headed towards the main entrance, only for Kushina to come and stop him.

"Go to the vault!" she order.

"Why?" he asked, hoping he didn't already know the answer.

"It's happening again," Kushina said, making his eyes go wide.

"Mom you need…" he started, but Kushina pushed him towards the vault.

"But mom," he started to say, but she wouldn't have it.

"Go into the vault," she said and pushed him inside.

"Mom."

"Just stay in the vault!" she said, "I can't lose you."

Naruto just looked at her and nodded. She watched as the Vault door closed, her son looking on. Naruto turned to the vault screen and looked around. He saw the Freedom sitting there in front of him. He wanted to give it to Kushina, but she wouldn't listen to him. He walked in front of the creation.

"Why can't I help!" he cried as he sat, down on the ground, in front of the IS. "I built you, but no one can use you. I hate this."

He looked up at the Freedom and put his hand onto it, suddenly he felt a shock and his head was filled with information. Soon a bright light filled the room.

-Outside-

Kushina was fighting off three IS; They seemed to have the advantage over her. She was still using the Zaku so she was at a disadvantage. Her IS was an early, Generation-2 while the enemy was flying new, Generation-3 machines. She was firing at one of the IS but was hit from behind by a blast. She fell to the ground as her shields fell below a hundred.

"Give it up!" One of the pilots said, taking aim at her.

"Oh no," she said, and waited for the enemy to blast her, but nothing came. She watched as the enemy IS looked towards the lab as an explosion filled the air. The sounds of thrusters filled the air and suddenly, six lasers sped towards the three enemy IS. As the scattered, one was hit by a large blur and pushed towards the ground. The new IS turned and fired four blasters at the grounded IS, knocking it out of the fight. The other two IS came out of the shock, and quickly attacked the new enemy. The black and blue IS activated it thrusters, making it looks like wings. It flew forward at full speed and pulled out a double-sided beam saber. The two enemies IS fired at the charging IS, only to be met with a shield blocking their shots. The pilot of the new IS forced their shield into one of the enemies IS and slammed the blade into the other. As the enemies flew back, it gave Kushina enough time to recharge her shields and enter the fight. She flew towards the enemy IS that was hit with the shield, and brought her axe out. Before the pilot could get its bearings, Kushina slammed her axe into its shield, knocking them down lower and lower 'til the IS stopped moving. She turned to look at the two battling IS and saw the enemy IS fall to the ground.

Kushina smiled and opened a channel with the black and blue IS. "Thanks for the help," she said.

"Not a prob," the pilot said.

The voice shocked Kushina, "Naruto is that you?"

The IS turned and she saw her son looking at her with a smile, "Yeah mom it's me."

She looked at her son with shock, he was piloting an IS, but one she had never seen. "Naruto what _is_ that?"

Naruto just smiled, "this, mom, is the Freedom," he said with a huge smile on his face.

-SB-

Naruto walked down a hallway with his mother. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and orange tie. He hated wearing something like that, but it was something Kushina insisted on. They were heading towards a meeting with the President of the United States. Naruto was nervous and didn't know why he was there. He just wanted to go back to the lab and work on the Freedom. They sat down and waited for the President to speak.

He smiled at them, "thank you for coming," he said.

"Thank you for having us," Kushina said with a smile.

He smiled back, then looked at Naruto, "You might be wondering why I have called you here today."

"I am," Naruto said but Kushina kicked him. "Ow"

"I have an idea," Kushina said.

"Well then let's get to the point," the President said, "I am happy to announce that we are sending your son to the IS academy."

Naruto looked at him with confusion on his face, "Say wa?"

"We are sending you to the IS academy," the President said again, as Naruto just stared at him in shock. "What? do you think that we would just leave the second male that can pilot an IS, just sit there and do nothing."

"What do you mean second?" Naruto asked, but was ignored.

Kushina just sighed and shook her head. "When is the capability test?"

"I was hoping for later on today," the president replied, and Kushina just nodded her head. She stood up, and Naruto followed her out the door. They were led by one of the President's advisors to a large stadium in the back. They stopped in the locker room so Naruto could change into his IS suit. It was black and fitted his form. If any girls his age would have seen him like that they would have drooled over his toned upper body. As he finished changing, he went to the IS launching area. He entered and saw the Freedom, ready to be boarded. Kushina stood by its side, giving him a smile.

"You'll do fine," she said, and he smiled.

"Fine," he said and activated the Freedom. He stood tall and ready to launch. He watched as the launch bay doors opened and he flew out. He floated onto the field and looked for his opponent, he saw no one and sighed. "Hello?"

He then heard the sound of thruster fill the air and saw a Raphel Revive fly out towards him. He watched as the pilot came closer and blushed when she came into view. She was beautiful, with short green hair, and glasses that held bright green eyes. Naruto couldn't stop staring at her. She flew towards him and stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Hello," she said with a smile that made Naruto blush even more.

"Hi," Naruto said, trying to hide his emotions. The girl noticed his blush and blushed as well. Suddenly a voice filled both com channels.

"Ok, the test will be starting soon," the voice said, obviously female, "The test is being administered by Maya Yamada, her opponent, and test taker is Naruto Namikaze. Do your best, both of you."

The voice cut out and the Maya stared at her opponent. She smiled. "do your best," she said.

Naruto was about to nod when he saw Maya level a gun at him. Naruto instantly went into battle mode, and lifted his shield to block the incoming barrage of shots. He lifted his rifle and returned fire. Maya dodged the shots, changed her weapon to two machine guns, and started to send another barrage of bullets at Naruto. He dodged to the side and flared his wings, allowing him to move at his top speed. He flew up towards her shield in front, firing his rifle. Maya stood her ground and kept up her attack only to have him thrust his shield into her, knocking her back. She was surprised by the tactic but her eyes widened when she saw two shoulders and hip blaster leveled at her. He smiled than fired. She didn't have time to dodge and was hit full on by the attack. Her shield dropping dangerously low, she looked at him and saw that he was still pressing his attack. She pushed her thruster to maximum and dodged as he fired at her. She switched her weapons to a Grey Scale battering Ram and a combat knife. She thrust the battering ram at Naruto's Shield knocking it out of his hands.

'Damn," Naruto said and tried to back up, but Maya pressed her attack. She used the combat knife to stab his shoulder. She then proceeded to ram his energy shields till a hiss was heard, signaling he was out of energy. Naruto fell to the ground and looked up at Maya, "Damn."

She smiled at him and deactivated her IS. She landed on the ground and offered her hand to him, "You did a very good job," she said, making him blush. "You had me on the ropes with that last attack."

He took her hand and she pulled him up, "Yeah, but I still lost," he said with a sad smile, "but I will get you next time."

"Is that a challenge?" she asked with a smile.

"For someone as pretty as you, yes it is," Naruto said with a big smile.

Maya blushed and was about to reply, when a beautiful woman with black hair and an amazing figure walked towards them. "That enough flirting you two," she said and the pair blushed. She looked at Naruto and he looked back at her trying not to blush, "You did well enough for an idiot."

"Hey, I am not an idiot!" he said getting angry.

"Yes you are," the black haired lady said, "You blasted her with your four blaster but gave her time to recover. You need to press your attack more."

Naruto wanted to say something, but knew she was right. "I know that," he said with a little anger in his voice.

"Good, there is hope for you yet," She said and walked away. Maya looked at Naruto and smiled.

"See you at school," she said, and followed the black haired lady.

Kushina walked over to her son and put a hand on his shoulder, "You did great," she said, and gave him a smile.

"Thanks mom," he replied letting his anger show. "But I don't appreciate being called an idiot by her," he said, gesturing to the departing form of the black haired lady.

"Well, she does have the right, you know," Kushina replied.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"That is Chifuyu Orimura, she was one of the best IS pilots in the world," Kushina said, and walked away. Naruto stood there dumbfounded. He shook out of his surprise and headed after his mother.

-SB-

A girl with purple hair had watched the fight and was fascinated by Naruto's IS. It was truly a very well-designed machine, but what surprised her the most was that the pilot was the one who designed it. She watched her monitors and froze the screen, zooming in on Naruto's face.

"This one, is truly one to watch," she said with a smile. Tabane Shinonono had found someone that interested her beside Ichika, Chifuyu, and her sister Houki.

**That is the first chapter of this crossover, I really like how it turned out and can't wait to hear what you think of it. I really just had to get it out of my head but my dear readers, I will be continuing my other stories so don't worry. Shinigami Ninja is coming to an end soon and Ah!My Ninja and LMN are just getting good. Please review this story and tell me what you think. Also I need help with pairings. I was going to Do Naruto/Maya/?. Who should be the last girl? As you know I am a big fan of unusual pairings so give me your ideas and tell me what you think. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto rode the train towards IS academy, his duffle bag at his side, a large create of tools and half-finished projects sat next to that. Kyuubi rested on his shoulder, looking out the window. She turned to look at Naruto and gave him, the "are we there yet?" look.

Naruto smiled and scratched the top of her head, "not yet Kyu, but soon," he said, and she nodded. It had been two weeks since his compatibility test and his life had been hectic ever since. His first responsibilities were to get his new school uniform and read the IS training manual. Naruto had already read it more times than he could count, so he decided to work on the Freedom. He changed the energy flow allowing for more speed and recalibrated all the blasters so he could fire them faster. He was dreading the day when he had to go to IS academy due to the fact he believed he would do more good at home, developing new IS designs and equipment, but alas, the day came and he was shipped off to Japan. The only thing that he was looking forward to was seeing the Maya Yamada; He couldn't get her out of his head. The way her hair fell on her face and her smile made him shiver. Before he could fantasize further, Kyuubi hit him in the head with one of her tails.

She gave him the, "Stop daydreaming, we have work to do," look, and Naruto just smiled.

"Thanks, Kyu," he said, and scratched her behind her ears. He saw the school in the distance and smiled. "Time to begin the Naruto, new school, grand entrance!"

-SB-

Ichika Orimura sat in his desk waiting for the day to start, it had been a few weeks since the fight with Rin and the attack of the unmanned IS. He was tired, and just wanted to relax, but once again he was the only male in the school so he had no one to talk to. He sighed once more, before looking around the classroom. His childhood friend Houki Shinonono sat a few seats away from him looking her usual, stoic self. She had dark brown hair that was tied in a ponytail. She had a great figure but it was usually hidden by the clothes she wore. Next, he saw Celica Alcott, the Representative Candidate from England. She had long blonde hair, a great figure, and always seemed to smile at him. At first, she hated his guts for some unknown reason, but after their fight, her attitude towards him had changed. Still, he sat alone waiting for class to begin. Soon, Maya Yamada stepped into the classroom; she was the assistant sensei for the class, while her older sister Chifuyu, was their main instructor. She was a tall, black-haired goddess, in many people opinions, but to him she was his nee-san.

Maya looked out at her class and smiled. "Good morning, everyone, before we start today, we're introducing two new students," she said, making most everyone in class, gasp in anticipation.

Ichika looked on with interest and hoped there was another guy coming to school, but he knew that was unlikely. Soon the door opened, and someone walked inside. They had blonde hair and were wearing a boy's uniform. Ichika stared for a moment, a guy's uniform, he wasn't alone. He couldn't wait to talk to him, and try to prepare him on how to survive school. They looked for the other new student but they weren't seen.

The blonde boy stepped forward and smiled, "hello, I am Charles Dunois, please take care of me," he said, making all the girls smile at him. They soon bombard him with questions, but Chifuyu silenced them all quickly.

"Isn't there a second new student?" A girl asked, and many of the girls nodded.

Maya looked around, but and didn't see Naruto. She knew he was supposed to start today, but he wasn't in class. "Yes, but it seems he has yet to arrive."

"What! Did you say he?" One of the girls asked, and Maya nodded. The girls started to get excited.

"I wonder if he is hot?" one of the girls asked, and soon they were talking about the other new guy. Suddenly, the door opened and everyone looked, but didn't see anyone. One girl looked down, and saw a red fox, with nine tails, walking towards the front of the class. She pointed it out, and the other girls couldn't help but smile.

"What a cute fox." Celica said, as the fox hopped up onto the teacher's desk. Chifuyu eyed the animal, her instincts telling her, something bad was going to happen. The fox waved its tails in a greeting, before pointing towards the window. Everyone ran towards the windows when suddenly, a huge explosion of colors filled their eyes. Painted across the court yard and on some of the building was the following.

"NARUTO NAMIKAZE HAS ARRIVED!"

Chifuyu looked at the paint, and shook her head. "I should have listened to his mother." She said to herself. "Kushina told me that he liked to make a grand entrance." Soon they heard the sounds of thrusters fill the air, and an IS come into view. It was heading straight towards them, and soon they could see the black and blue wings. No one noticed the fox use its tails to open a window. The pilot quickly deactivated his IS, and used the momentum to fly through the open window, roll across the teacher's desk, and land on his feet.

"Hi," he said his blonde hair settling as he stood. "My name is Naruto Namikaze, it's nice to be here."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before someone started to clap.

"That was amazing!" one of the girls cried. Soon, more voices were singing his praises. Chifuyu looked at him, and shook her head. She walked over to him and hit him on the top of his head.

"Sit down, idiot," she said, and received a glare from Naruto while he rubbed his head.

"Come on, Kyu," he said. The fox walked over to him, jumped up onto one of the desks, then to his shoulder. He sat down and looked at the board. He looked around and saw Maya. He smiled and gave her a wave that made her blush. Some of the girls noticed this, and wondered what was going on between the new boy and the assistant teacher. Chifuyu walked to the front of the classroom and gave everyone her customary stare.

"We are going to have practical lesson today so Ichika, you know what to do," she said. He nodded, walked over to Charles and gestured he, and Naruto to follow. Naruto stood up and followed the pair out of the room. The girls watched them leave and couldn't believe their luck. They had three hot boys in their class.

"Naruto is so hot," one of the girls said with a smile, "and the way he came into class was soo cool."

"Yeah it was," another girl agreed, "and that cute fox that he has, I could just eat her up."

Once again, the girls were talking only to be silenced by Chifuyu slamming her role book on the desk.

"Please stop acting like children and go get changed," she ordered, and everyone ran out of the room.

-with the boys-

Ichika lead them quickly to the locker room after being chased by half the school. Naruto didn't seem to mind all that much.

"Dude, why did we run?" He asked Ichika. "I mean, if the girls are _this_ hot I would run towards, not away from them?"

"It's…complicated," Ichika said, and started to change. "Hurry up! Chifuyu-nee-san doesn't like it when we're late."

Naruto nodded, and started to take off his shirt. All the while, Charles looked on. He had his suit on underneath his clothes, so he was already, prepared to go. As he watched, he could see the difference between the other boys. Ichika was slim and had a decent toned body. Naruto, on the other hand, was very well built. He had the body of a martial artist, with a few scars on his chest. His uniformed figure left little to the imagination. He bet that many of the girls in the class would be drooling at the site of the fox-like teen. Soon, they were all ready and headed out towards the training field. Naruto saw the girls of his class, gather over by another class. He smiled, and walk towards them, with Charles and Ichika close behind. They took their places in line while Chifuyu stood in front of the group.

"Today, we are going to have IS practice," Chifuyu said. As everyone nodded in agreement, the sound of an IS filled the air. Maya was flying, out of control, towards the crowd and headed straight toward Ichika. Naruto, upon realizing this, knocked him out of the way, only to be hit by the assistant teacher. As the dust settled Naruto noticed that he was holding something soft, he squeezed it and heard a moan. He looked down and saw that he was holding Maya breast. He blushed, and slowly lifted his hand.

"If this continues I will have a new brother-in-law." Maya said, with a curious look.

Naruto smiled and leaned in close, "I wouldn't object to continuing," He said making her cheeks flush once again.

Celica and Rin looked at the new boy with anger. How dare he grope their teacher.

"He must die!" the both said simultaneously and activated there is, preparing to fire. Suddenly, their weapons were knocked off target, and they saw Maya pointing a sniper rifle at them. Naruto could only smile, and leaned in, near her ear.

"That was so hot," he whispered as he got up, resulting in another blush out of Maya. Naruto walked over to the other guys with big smile on his face. Ichika and Charles looked at him with awe. He looked at them and grin.

"What? Is there something on my face?" he asked, making them face palm.

"What did you do?" Ichika asked.

Naruto looked at him with confusion, "what do you mean?"

Ichika looked at him with shock, "I mean, how were you able to survive, groping Yamada sensai?"

"Oh, that," Naruto replied. "Simple, I'm just good that way."

Charles and Ichika just stared at the blonde, who smiled, and turned to watch the lesson. Chifuyu looked over at them, saw Naruto watching, and couldn't help but shake her head.

"He is _going_ to be trouble," she thought, before addressing the class.

"Rin and Celica, since you so happily volunteered to fight Yamada sensei," Chifuyu said, getting both girls' attention.

"What!" They said at the same time.

"I rather not." Celica said, with Rin nodding in agreement.

Chifuyu looked at them and leaned in close. "This is the perfect chance to show Ichika what you can do."

Celica beamed, "I would love to."

"As would I," Rin added.

"Well it's settled," Chifuyu said, only to see Naruto raising his hand.

"This isn't fair," he said. "Why does Maya get to fight against them all alone?"

"She used to be a Representative Candidate," Chifuyu said, but Naruto still didn't look convinced.

"I will fight _with_ her, if that is all right?" He said. Chifuyu thought for a moment before nodding. With a sly smile, Naruto walked towards Maya. He activated the Freedom and stood tall, his wings opening. He winked at her and activated a secure channel to talk.

"Hi Maya, how are you?" he asked her making her blush when he used her name.

"It is Yamada sensei, to you," she chided him, and he chuckled.

"Of course, Ya-ma-da Se-sei," he said, sounding out every part of her name, making her face flush even more. Chifuyu saw this and sighed.

"He doesn't know when to quit, does he?" She thought, before opening a channel to both Naruto and Maya. "Stop flirting, and get ready to fight." She said making the pair blush.

Naruto smiled at Chifuyu and saluted. "Yes, Orimura sensei." She looked at him and shook her head. He looked towards Maya, and then to their training battle enemies. "What can you tell me about those two?"

Maya smiled and explained to Naruto about Celica and Rin's IS. He nodded and processed the info before revealing a smirk. Maya noticed this, and wondered what was going on.

"I have a plan," he said, as they started to float upwards.

"What plan is that?" Maya asked him.

Naruto smiled, "it's called shield and sword," he said. "I am the shield and you're the sword."

Maya thought for a moment, and then remembered back to her fight with him. His unit had a lot of defensive power, with the shield he carried in his right hand. She winked at him and nodded. Naruto was glad she liked the plan, and flew in front of her. Chifuyu saw that the pairs were in position, and signaled for the fight to begin. Celica wasted no time, and deployed her bits, firing off round after round, only to have them blocked by Naruto's shield. As she tried to break his defense, she failed to notice Maya lift a little bit above him and fire at her, knocking her back, and lowering her energy shields. Celica was surprised and tried to right herself, but was once again hit by fire from Maya. Rin saw that her partner was in trouble, and flew towards the unguarded backside of Maya, only to be met by the fire from Naruto's shoulder and hip blasters. She tried to get close but failed, so she charged her shoulder blaster, only for Maya and Naruto to flip around in perfect sync. Chifuyu watched, as was surprised by how well the pair worked together. Naruto smiled as he blocked fire from Rin, before returning fire from his blaster. While they fought, Chifuyu had Charles explain about the IS Maya was flying. It was the Rapheal Revive, the IS made by Charles father's company so he knew the ins and outs of the machine. The girls were in awe of the IS and were surprised that it was only a second generation model.

Houki looked at Naruto's machine and asked, "what model is Naruto using?"

Chifuyu looked at her and the other girls, "That, is the Freedom, a model built and developed by Konoha Industries," she said. "I don't know much about it, except that Naruto built and designed the entire unit by himself, so if you have any questions you should ask him."

Everyone was surprised that he had designed his own unit. IS design was a very complex thing and a boy _their_ age was able to, not only design it, but build it as well. Many were fascinated by this, and wondered what else he could do. Suddenly an explosion was heard and everyone turned their heads back to the battle. Rin and Celica were near to the ground, their shields dangerously low, both panting. On the other hand, Maya and Naruto were above them and they didn't seem winded. Naruto smiled and nodded to Maya.

"Shall we end this?" he asked and she nodded. Naruto hooked his shield to his forearm and summoned his other blaster. Maya was holding two machine guns over his shoulders. Before Rin and Celica could see what was happening, Naruto had all cannons pointed at them. "Fire," he commanded. Celica and Rin watched as a rain of bullets and lasers came down at them, hitting them directly. Their machines fell to the ground out of power. They both couldn't believe they were beaten so easily. Naruto and Maya flew down and Naruto deactivated the Freedom. As he landed on his feet, everyone saw a black necklace with a blue crystal around his neck. This was the Freedom's standby mode. He walked over to the two downed girls and offered his hand.

"That was fun," he said with a wide smile, making the pair go, red in the face.

Celica looked at him and got up. "I let you win, that's all," She replied and walked away. Rin took his hand and he helped her up.

"I bet you counted on it," she said and followed Celica. Naruto sighed and walked back over to the class, just in time to hear, that all the people with personal ISs were to help the other students into the training IS, the Uchigane. Naruto nodded and stood waiting for his group to form. Soon he was bombarded by question after question, and he sighed.

"This is going to be a long day," he said to himself, as he helped the first girl into the IS.

-SB-

Ichika walked into the locker room, dead tired. He couldn't seem to understand how the girls had so much energy. He watched as Naruto and Charles enter the room, not looking the least bit worn-out. Naruto looked at Ichika and shook his head.

"Dude, you really need more stamina," he said to Ichika and shook his head. "I can't believe you are tired after _that_."

Ichika just held his head in shame and Naruto just sighed. "It's ok," he said and headed out of the locker room, only to be met by Houki, Rin, and Celica.

"Can I help you?" he asked, wondering.

Celica looked at him, and gave him a high and mighty look. "We are here to help Ichika train."

Naruto nodded and turned his head, "hey Ichika, your girlfriends are here!" All the girls felt embarrassed at this comment, and when Ichika heard it, he fell over. Naruto just laughed and continued out of the locker room. He headed towards the dorms, and ran into Maya. He smiled and waved to her, bringing some extra color to her face.

"Hey Yamada-sensei," he said with a smile.

"Hello Naruto," she said with a cute smirk. "Class is over you can call me Maya."

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Ok, Maya, so where you headed?"

"I was looking for _you_, actually," she explained. "I need to show you to your dorm room."

"Cool," he said with obvious agreement, "Lead the way."

Maya nodded and Naruto followed her. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"So, you use to be a Representative Candidate," Naruto said, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah, I was," she replied, "I just couldn't cut it in the real fights."

"That sucks, but it's my gain," he said with enjoyment.

Maya looked at him with confusion, "What do you mean?"

Naruto walked a little bit in front of her and turned, "simple, I would never have met you, if you had made it."

She blushed and Naruto grimed. He offered her his hand. They headed towards the dorms hand in hand. All the while, they never noticed Chifuyu watching them. She could see the happiness on Maya's face, but if they tried to be more than friends, it could lead to disaster.

"I am going to have to talk to that boy," she said, and headed towards the dorms, after the pair.

-In the dorms-

Maya led Naruto to room 1235, "this is it," she said, and handed Naruto his card key. "Chifuyu is the dorm monitor, so don't try anything."

Naruto nodded, "so that means not trying to find _your_ room?" he said with a fake pout.

Maya blushed and playfully hit him in the shoulder. Naruto smiled and opened the door to his room. It was a nice room with two beds. He looked around and saw that there wasn't anything in the room.

"Do I have a roomie?" He asked as he looked around.

"No," she said, "we already have Charles rooming with Ichika so we decided to have you room alone." In her mind she was saying, "We room you in your own room, because some of the girls might try to sleep in the same bed with you."

He just nodded and smiled. He turned to find Kyuubi sitting on one of the beds, her tails wagging in the air. Maya looked at the fox and smiled.

"She's soo cute!" She said, and picked up Kyuubi, petting her fur. Kyuubi smiled and seemed to hum as she was petted.

"Yeah she is," he said, "she is my best friend."

Maya nodded and set her down, "well, I have to go, I'll see you later."

"Hey," he called out to her, "I was wondering if you could help me with my IS training after class?"

Maya smiled but shook her head. "I can't," she said, "it's against school rules, but we can spar every once in a while."

"Sounds good." He said with satisfaction, and watched her leave. He closed the door and sighed. Kyuubi looked at him and gave him a smile.

Her expression read, "Who's the cutie?"

Naruto smiled and picked up the fox. "That's my assistant sensei, Maya," he said. Kyuubi just nodded and jumped on his shoulder. She pointed her tails at the door and he agreed. "Let's eat, I have some ideas I need to work on for the Freedom."

Kyuubi nodded and they headed toward the dining hall. As he walked, he didn't noticed a girl with blue hair walk right him. The two collided and fell to the ground. Naruto was on top of her and pushed himself up. As he got a good look at the girl below him, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She had short blue hair, red eyes, and a sexy smile on her lips.

"I knew boys were forceful," she said making him blush even more.

Naruto got up and offered to help her up. "Sorry," he said. "I am Naruto Namikaze, by the way."

"Hello, I am Tatenashi Sarashiki," she said. "I am in the second year; It is nice to meet you."

Naruto smiled at her, "So what brings you to the first year dorms?"

"Well, I was actually looking for the male pilots I am hearing so much about, and I guess I found one," she said, making Naruto blush again. "So where you headed?"

Naruto smiled, "I'm heading to dinner then going to work on my IS," he said.

"Really?" she said with surprise. "Most students let the research department take care of them."

Naruto shook his head. "Not me," he replied. "I built it, so I'm going to take care of it."

Tatenashi looked at him with surprise, "You built your IS?"

"Yeah," he replied as they walked. "I grew up around IS. My parents own Konoha Industries so I learned a lot about them. I have been designing and building them since I was about six."

"Konoha Industries?" Tatenashi said as she thought. "Oh, wasn't that the company that helped program the PIC?"

Naruto nodded, "yeah, that was us," he said. "My dad was the one who did that."

Tatenashi nodded as they walked into the dining room. "So, you are going to go work on your IS after eating?" she asked. Naruto nodded as he got his food. "Do you mind if I come with?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment before looking at Kyuubi. "What do you think, Kyu?"

Kyuubi looked at him and gave him a simple nod. "Well, the fox has decided," he said, and she smiled at him. Soon they settled into light conversation that descended into laughing fits after Naruto told Tatenashi about one of his pranks. Soon he was finished with dinner, and they headed to the IS storage and repair facility. Naruto walked up to his storage area. He put in his security code and they walked inside. She stood in awe at the site of the Freedom, it was an impressive IS, in her opinion.

"You designed this?" She said, as she ran her hand over it.

Naruto smiled, "Yeah, she's my baby," he said, as he looked on. "It took me over two years to make her."

"She?" she asked, wondering why he was calling his IS "she."

"Yeah, she," he said with a smile. "A beautiful machine is always a she."

"Well, I can't see the flaw in that," she said. She walked over to a create and saw designs on it. On the side, it read GN Drive.

"What's this?" She pointed to the crate. Naruto walked over to it and smiled. "That, my dear Tatena, is a secret."

She pouted and pushed herself against him. "Aww, please tell me, I am good at keeping secrets."

Naruto blushed but held firm. "Sorry, but it's not ready. I have a few things to work on before I can show it, but I can let you take the Freedom for a test flight."

Tatenashi looked at him with shock. "You would allow me to fly your IS?" She asked.

"Yeah," he said. "When I fly it, I can't get much data, so I want to let different people fly it in order to get more information."

Tatenashi nodded and Naruto helped her into the Freedom. She watched as it started up She couldn't help but awe at the targeting system. Many of the systems on the Freedom could be used for her IS.

"Ok, I need you to start off slow, and head out to the testing area," he said. She nodded and took off for the training area. "Good, now open her up." Tatenashi nodded and pushed the Freedom to its maximum speed. She was amazed. Its speed was amazing. It made the many other IS look slow in comparison. She soon put the Freedom through its paces and was surprised that this machine was only from the second generation. As she landed back in the research area, she couldn't help but admire the machine.

"It is well-built," she said. "It was fun to fly."

"Thanks, I try," he replied. "It took me forever to design and build, but it was worth it. Thanks for the data."

Tatenashi smiled. "Well, it was my pleasure, but you owe me dinner sometime," she whispered into his ear. Naruto just nodded. "Good, I will hold you to it."

Tatenashi kissed him on his cheek and walked away. Naruto watched her leave and couldn't help but watch the sway of her hips. "I am so glad I came here," he said and smiled. As soon as she was out of site, Naruto went to the crate Tatenashi was looking at earlier. He started to open it and smiled.

"This is going to be fun," he said, and set to work.

-SB-

Chifuyu walked towards Naruto's room and knocked the door. She wanted to talk to him about his relationship with Maya. No one answered, so she used her master key to gain access. She walked inside, and saw that he wasn't even in the room. She saw his duffle bag on one of the beds and a laptop on one of the desks. The surprising thing about it was it was very old, and very heavy. She set it down and waited for the boy to return. The hours past and he still didn't show. As she was about to leave, the door opened and Naruto walked inside. She was about to talk to him, but he seemed to be preoccupied. In his hand was a small ball. Behind him was a crate with an odd looking device. It had a cone-like shape that held in a cylinder.

"We need to increase the particle output," he said, as he set down the sphere. "The system output hasn't stabilized."

He opened his laptop and started it up. "If we increase the output, hopefully we can stabilize the system. I just need to find a way to stabilize the gases so that the compression will make the particles."

"Excuse me," she said, making him jump.

Naruto turned and saw Chifuyu standing over him. "Hi," he said, and quickly shut his computer.

"Mr. Namikaze, I would like to talk to you," she said, giving him a stern glare.

"Yes, Orimura-sensei?" He asked, hoping she hadn't noticed his projects.

"I have noticed that you have gotten close to Yamada sensei," she said. He nodded. "I think it would be best if you keep it strictly professional."

"Naruto looked at her with confusion. "Why can't I get to know Maya?"

"It will only cause both of you trouble," she said.

Naruto turned to look at her. "There are no rules against student and teacher relationships in the rule book, I checked."

"You checked the rules?" Chifuyu sounded surprised.

"Yes, I checked the rules," he replied. "Now, please, can you leave, I have work to do."

Chifuyu looked at him, a little angered by his dismissal. "I am not done talking."

"Well, I am," Naruto said, and went back to work. Chifuyu was about to reply, when Kyuubi hopped up onto the desk and pointed towards the door. She saw that Naruto was in his own little world as soon as he opened his computer. She looked at the fox who gave her glance "He won't answer."

Chifuyu shook her head and headed out of the room. She closed the door behind her, taking one last glance at the boy. He was so different from her brother,Ichika, he knew what he wanted, and was going after it. She wished there were more men like him.

-SB-

Naruto was working on improving the output of his new engine design, when he saw a chat window open on the side of the screen.

"What are you doing?" appeared in the chatbox, making Naruto wonder who had gotten access to his laptop. He used this older model because it was more secure then more conventional machines. This was due to the fact it had to be wired into the network and did not have wireless capabilities.

"Who's this?" he asked, wondering.

"I am Tabane," came the reply

"Nice to meet you, Tabane," Naruto said, knowing the name sounded familiar, but not sure why.

"So what are you working on," Tabane asked, making Naruto frown.

"That's for me to know, and you to not find out," he replied

"Awe, pretty please?" she asked, making his eyes narrow in frustration.

"I'm leaving now," he said.

He was about to unplug from the network when Tabane replied, "WAIT!"

"What?" he asked.

"I'm just asking, one IS engineer to another," she explained. "I saw the battle with the IS you built. It was amazing. I was wondering how you got so much out of a generation 2 design."

Naruto thought for a moment. "Simple, I just made sure that I was always able to make the IS better," he replied. "I just optimized the targeting and flight systems and tried to improve thruster output. It was quite simple."

"Then how did you correct the frame so that it would be able to handle the high speeds." Tabane asked.

"That was the hard part," he responded. "I first thought I would increase the density of the metal, but that didn't work," Naruto said, explaining his process. Soon, he and Tabane were talking through the night. Naruto smiled as they argued over the different things to improve the IS.

Naruto finally noticed the time and sighed. "It's late, I've got to go," he said, and got a frowny face in reply.

"Can you talk again later?" She asked him and Naruto smiled.

"Sure." He said and closed the window. He disconnected from the network and lay down in his bed. Soon sleep overtook him and he was in a dreamless sleep.

-SB-

Tabane Shinonono was smiling. She had just spoken with the boy who had caught her eye. He had some good ideas on how to improve the IS. She like the way he thought; It was outside the box and was so determined, or so it seemed. When he explained how he developed the frame of his IS, he went through many different ideas before settling on adding more support structures that were made of different metals than the frame. It gave him the support he needed to keep flying at high speeds.

"I can't wait to talk with him again," she said to herself as she looked at a picture of him. "Maybe I should go meet him?"

-SB-

Naruto walked into class with a yawn. He had stayed up too late and now, was paying for it. He sat down in his desk and laid his head down. The girls were smiling and looking at him. He looked up and smiled back. Soon everyone was in their seats, waiting for class to start.

Maya walked in and smiled. "Before we start class we are going to introduce a new student."

A girl with silver hair and an eye patch walked inside the classroom. Everyone looked at her, but her eyes fell upon Ichika. She walked towards him and slapped him across his face.

"I won't accept that you are related to the commander," She said, making everyone gasp. Naruto, on the other hand, smiled a bit.

"This is going to be fun," he thought.

**This is chapter 2, I really glad how it turned out and can't wait for more. I really thankful for all the reviews I am getting and please continue to review. As you can see I have set a few pairing paths I can persue so please let me know what you think, we have Naruto/?/?. It seems most people like the idea of three in the harem so I plan on that. I am really liking where it going and can't wait to get started on next chapter. Also, give me ideas for the pairing. I have a few ideas and Tabane and Tatenashi are in the lead for me, but I have a few ideas for Laura. I really don't know. So please let me know. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto watched as Laura Bodewig stared at Ichika with hatred in her eyes. He wondered why she hated him so much but decided it would wait until later. He had more pressing matters to attend to. It had been two days since he arrived, and he had yet to pull a prank.

"What could I do?" he thought to himself, as he opened his pranking file on his desk computer. He looked over his older pranks and sighed, "none of these will work." He finally found one that caught his eye and smiled. "Time to start Operation Orange Day."

Chifuyu watched Naruto as he worked at his desk. She could see that it wasn't for class and wondered if it had to with his IS. She wanted to talk to him again, after he had brushed her off the night before. He was the first man who wasn't afraid to talk back to her. She was intrigued by this and wondered what it was about him, that made him that way. She watched, as he smiled and chuckled to himself.

"I wonder what he is up to?" she thought.

-SB-

Later in the day Naruto sat in his IS storage area working on his new IS engine. He failed to notice someone walk inside, and soon found his eyes covered.

"Guess who?" a female voice sang, making Naruto smile.

"The sexy ramen girl with my order?" he guessed.

The girl leaned in close, "So close, but no."

"Then it has to be Tatena," he concluded, making sure to use the girls pet name.

"We have a winner!" She announced and pulled her hands from his eyes. Naruto spun his chair around to face her.

"So what brings you to my humble IS storage today?" he asked, giving her a big smile.

"Can't I come visit?" she asked, pouting a little. Naruto tried to resist, but couldn't

"Of course you can," He reassured. "It always nice, having a beautiful girl come visit."

She smiled and sat down on his lap making him blush. She put her arms around his neck and smiled. "Oh you," she muttered.

Naruto blushed and she smiled. "So, how have you been?" he asked, trying to stay calm.

Tatenashi leaned into his chest making him blush even more. "I'm so tired," she whined. "I didn't get to do anything fun today."

Naruto just nodded and started to stroke her hair on instinct. "Well, you can help me run some more tests on the Freedom."

"I'd love to," she said eagerly, hugging him. Naruto's heart began audibly racing as she pushed herself against him. He smiled, surprised that his heart hadn't yet jumped out of his chest. He was enjoying having her close, and had to let out an inward sigh of disappointment when she pulled away. She slowly got out of his lap and headed towards the Freedom.

'"I think I need to change into something more comfortable," she decided and started to unbutton her top. Naruto watched with awe as she undressed. She turned her head and smiled. She slowly took off her shirt, revealing her shoulders. Naruto tried to look away but couldn't, he was enthralled by the blue haired girl's beauty. Soon her clothes dropped to the floor, revealing her IS pilot's suit.

Naruto watched as she walked over to him, his brain completely fried. She waved her hand in front of his face and didn't get a response. She leaned in close and blew in his ear causing him to reboot.

"Shall we get started?" she asked, giving him a sexy smile.

"Yeah," he stammered and turned away, hoping to hide his reddened face. Tatenashi smiled, she loved to tease him. Ever since she had met him the night before, she wanted to be closer to him. He was different from many of the boys she had met. He was always smiling and didn't seem to take crap from anyone. He was easy to fluster, if you know what to do. She entered the Freedom and started up the systems. She got to know the IS, a bit, in her first test flight the other night, and couldn't wait to fly again. Naruto was at his computer, setting up the test course for her to run.

"Ok, Tatena," he said, as she focused on him."We are going to be running the test course, you are first going to start off at the ranged targets to see how the targeting system is working. Next is the close combat portion. You will be using the double-sided beam saber and a sword designed for the strike. I am trying to see which weapon is overall better for the Freedom. So, whenever you're ready."

Tatenashi nodded and slowly lifted off the ground. She headed into the testing area and saw that it was dark. "Ranged weapon test begin" Naruto commanded through the com channel. Light flooded the testing area, revealing targets set at different ranges. Tatenashi test had begun. She pointed the blaster rifle at the first target and took aim. She saw how fast the targeting system zoomed in on the target and fired, hitting it dead center. She flew to the next target and proceeded to do the same. She took out many of the closer targets with one shot while the further targets took two shots to destroy. She smiled as she floated in the middle of the testing area. Naruto smiled, proud of her performance, and set up the next part of the ranged test.

"Ok, for the next test I want to see how many targets you can hit simultaneously" he said and Tatenashi nodded. Naruto activated the test and Tatenashi watched in awe as multiple targets filled her field of vision. She wondered how she was going to manage to hit most of them, when suddenly, the targeting system honed in on many of the targets. The hip and shoulder blasters flipped into place. She took aim with her rifles in each hand and fired. She hit six targets and soon zoomed in on another six. She took out wave after wave of targets till she was surrounded by the jagged remains of the various targets. Naruto looked over the data; This was just what he had been expecting from the targeting system.

"This is great." He said happily. Tatenashi smiled, "So what's next?"

"Well, next we have the close combat test," he said. "This test will be conducted with a live opponent so, just wait a second." He disappeared and Kyuubi seemed to take over the computer using her tails and put in the commands to clean the testing area of destroyed targets. She heard the sound of thrusters and saw Naruto fly out, in an odd looking IS. It had a large thruster pack on its back that was black and red. It shoulders were all white and seemed to hug his frame. The arms and legs were similar design to the Freedom's. It was wearing blue armor on both shoulders. On the right shoulder held a large sword, while the left had a handle sticking out of it. On the left arm was a small shield that could be used to block blaster fire.

"What model is that?" she asked him. She had never before seen a model like this.

"This, is the Strike." He declared, as he reached for the sword on his right. "It is the mass production model my mom and I designed. She wanted to get some combat data on it so she sent me one to test."

Tatenashi nodded and smiled. "Well then, shall we?" she asked, and drew her double-sided beam saber. Naruto held the sword in front of him, igniting the beam along the edge of the sword. She smiled and activated her thusters. She charged forward, the shield at her side. Naruto was ready for impact. She brought the beam saber down on his head, only for him to block with the small shield on his arm. He kicked her and charged forward. She saw him coming and brought her shield to bear. His attack hit the shield and she used this moment to attack his side. Naruto was hit and his shields dropped. He backed away and put both hands on the handle. He charged her and brought the sword down in an overhead strike. She blocked it with the shield, but the force of the blow sent her back a bit.

"Nice attack," she complimented, as she flew back a bit to create distance. Naruto nodded in thanks and charged. He attacked her side, while she blocked with her saber. She brought the shield around and hit Naruto. Naruto was knocked to the side by the attack, his shields dropping a bit. She pressed her advantage and stabbed at Naruto. He moved to the side and charged into her guard. He grabbed her shoulder and kneed her in the chest. Tatenashi gasped as her breath left her body. She quickly recovered and grabbed Naruto arm. She flipped him, and sent him into the wall. Naruto created a small crater from the impact but quickly recovered. He charged and brought his blade down on her head but Tatenashi dodged. She punched him in the face, making him fall back. Naruto righted himself and grabbed the handle on his right shoulder. He drew the curved beam saber, and threw it at her, but she dodged to the side in response. She charged forward but was hit by the returning beam boomerang. She was surprised by the weapon and soon had to dodge Naruto's overhead strike. She moved back as Naruto missed creating a creator in the ground. She shot up and threw her shield at the Strike. Naruto spun around it only to be met by Tatenashi, her sabers held high. She hit him in between his shoulder blades and forced him to the floor. Naruto hit the ground with enough force to form another crater. Tatenashi came down and tried to stab him in the chest. Naruto flipped out of the way leaving his sword behind.

"Damn." Naruto said to himself, and activated his last weapons, a pair Armor Schneider combat knives. Tatetnashi had to applaud him on his, never give up, attitude and watched as he charged forward. She went to stab him, only for him to kneel down a bit and push forward, the blade scrapping across his cheek. He stabbed the first blade into her arm shield and went for the other shoulder. Tatenashi boosted away making him stumble. She took the advantage and stabbed him with the saber. His shields fell down to zero and the Strike went to standby mode.

Tatenashi landed next to him, stepped out of the Freedom, and walked over to him. "That was a good fight," she said satisfied, as she helped him up.

"Yeah, it was," he said with a smile. "You are a really good pilot."

"Well, I am the Student Council President," she said with a grim.

"What does _that_ mean?" he asked.

She beamed, "that means I am the strongest in the school." She said walking back into the research area. Naruto watched her and couldn't help but smile.

"Damn, if she's that good with and IS, and she's only flown it for two days, I can't wait to see what she can do with her personal unit," he wondered and headed after her. Once he got back inside, he saw that she was back in her uniform. She smiled at him while petting Kyuubi who was resting in her arms.

"So, what's the plan now?" she asked, as he put the Freedom back into its recharge area. The Strike had been placed right next to it.

"Well, I was going to go back to my room and relax," he said. "I might work on one of my projects."

"Care if I join you?" she asked him sweetly. He nodded, and the pair headed towards the dorms with Kyuubi still in Tatenashi's arms. They talked the whole way there, not noticing Maya walking the opposite way, watching the two. She knew of Tatenashi, and wondered what she was doing with Naruto.

"I wonder when he bumped into her," she thought and stopped to watch them walk past. She wanted to walk over to them but then remembered she had a teacher's, meeting and hurried on her way.

-At the dorms-

Naruto entered his room with Tatenashi close behind. He led her inside and she laid down on one of the beds. She stretched out and Naruto couldn't help but notice her wonderous form, the way her uniform hugged her body. He quickly looked away not wanting her to see the red on his face. She did, however, notice the blush and smiled. She turned and let him get a good view of her behind causing him to blush even harder. They sat in silence for a while, the only sound being the keys from Naruto's keyboard. As he worked, he didn't notice that Tatenashi had fallen asleep. He noticed the time and turned to talk to speak to her, but stopped short. He smiled and took the blanket off his bed and draped it over her sleeping form. He headed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Well, let's go eat," he said, and headed towards the dining room. He failed to notice that many of the girls were staring at him. He picked up his meal and looked for an open table. He saw Chifuyu sitting by herself and headed over to her table. He sat down and started to eat. Chifuyu looked at him, curious as to why he chose to sit there.

"Mr. Namikaze," she said, getting his attention.

"Yes, Orimura-sensei," he said mid-bite.

She studied him for a moment. "Why are you sitting with me?" she questioned.

He glanced at her for a moment before replying, "It was the only open table."

"Is that all?" she asked surprised, and he just nodded. He continued to eat in silence while Chifuyu looked him over. She had to admit he was good looking, the way his hair fell around his face and his eyes were stunning. On his face were whisker- like marks that made him look rugged. Naruto began to be annoyed at the attention she was giving him.

"Do I have something on my face?" He asked abruptly.

"No," she said and looked into his eyes. "There is just something about your eyes."

Naruto looked at her with confusion, "say wha?"

"There is something different about your eyes," she repeated. "They seem so sad, yet so determined, all at the same time."

He thought about for a moment before deciding, "you may be right," he said as he finished his dinner. "I will see you later."

Chifuyu watched him walk away and couldn't help but feel that there was something more to him. She smiled to herself and headed towards her room.

-SB-

Naruto entered his room and saw that Tatenashi was still asleep. He smiled and headed towards his laptop and hooked-up to the network. He started to work on his GN drive compression ratios only for a chat window to open up.

"Hi Naruto, its Tabane."

Naruto smiled and typed back, "Hey, Tabane, how are you?"

"Great," she replied, "just wondering how your day is going?"

"It's been going good," he replied. "Just, class is boring. I rather be working on the Freedom."

"School_ is _important," she replied. "It's good to pay attention."

Naruto sighed, "I know, I know," he replied. "I just can't seem to pay attention."

"I bet you would pay attention if _I_ was there." Tabane suggested.

Naruto laughed, "If I know what you looked like, then maybe." He replied.

"Well, maybe I will have to come visit," she offered.

"Maybe you should," he replied, than looked at the time. "I've got to go, I have class in the morning, and I can't sleep through it like I did today."

"Sleep tight," she said signing off. Naruto smiled and headed towards the bathroom. He quickly brushed and changed into his pajama pants and T-shirt. He looked over at Tatenashi and smiled. He laid down in his bed and soon fell asleep.

-SB-

Tatenashi woke up as the sun hit her face. She looked around and saw that she wasn't in her room. She got up and saw Naruto lying on the other bed, passed out. She quickly got out of bed and headed towards the door. She stopped, turned, and headed over to Naruto side, leaning in.

"Thanks," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. She headed towards the door, once again, and left the room. Kyuubi silently watched the entire event and smiled. She walked over to Naruto and rubbed one of her tails against his nose. He woke up and sneezed.

"Morning, Kyu," he said, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked over and saw that Tatenashi had left. The fox looked at him and pointed towards the clock. It was, still early and time to put, "Operation Orange Day" into motion. "Let's do this."

He exited the room quickly and headed towards his IS storage area. He opened it up and quickly collected his paint bombs. He entered the school and began to set up his prank. He first lined the entrance hall with three, trip wire bombs and headed toward the locker rooms. Next, he lined the entrance to it with another set of bombs, this time, using a timer. He set up his final one in the middle of the main hallway near the stairs. He headed towards the stairs when he saw Maya walking towards him. She realized that she was headed toward the, trip wire bomb, area.

"Oh crap." He realized and ran toward her. He waved his arms, trying to get her to stop but she simply waved back. He ran at full speed, just in time to trip his own trap, and cover himself with paint. Maya saw this and frowned.

"So, what was _that_ all about," she asked the painted-covered boy.

Naruto just smiled and shook his head. "A bad idea," he replied, and headed back towards the locker room and the stairway to remove his paint bombs. Maya followed him and made sure that they were all accounted for. After everything was cleaned up, she gave him a very stern look.

"I don't approve of pranking," she said, giving him a frown.

"Naruto nodded and shook his head. "It won't happen again," he assured her.

She looked over him and smiled. "I am glad you learned your lesson," she said. "Now go get cleaned up."

He nodded and headed back towards the dorms. As he walked by, some of the early risers saw him and wondered why he was covered in paint. He smiled as he walked past but picked up his pace to get back to his room.

He entered and saw Kyuubi waiting for him. When she saw his bright orange form, she shook her head. "It went bad, didn't it," she guessed with her look. Naruto nodded in reply and headed into the shower.

-Later on-

Naruto entered the classroom paint still clinging in his hair. As he sat down, he noticed many of the girls looking at him with hunger in their eyes.

"Why do I feel like i'm going to have to run?" he thought, as looked around the classroom. Maya entered the classroom and looked around. She noticed Naruto sitting at his desk looking around with a bewildered expression.

She smiled as she looked on. "Ok class, remember, you must have a partner for the paired tournament coming up. So, if you haven't found one yet, keep trying."

When Naruto heard this, the color drained from his face. Most of the girls looked at him with eager grins. "Oh crap," he said as he is crowded by most of the girls, each asking him to be their partner. He tried to get a word in, but they kept pushing and shoving to get to him. Naruto thought he was going to die. He then realized, "hey, suffocation by hot girls is not a bad way to go."

Fortunately Chifuyu came to his rescue. "Sit down, class is starting." She ordered and all the girls headed back to their desks. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, and nodded in thanks to Chifuyu. She nodded back, a faint hint of red on her cheeks. Class went by rather quickly and soon the bell rang. The girls once again turned to Naruto, only to see he was already out of the classroom.

"Get him!" one of the girls cried, and the chase was on. He ran down the hall and turned his head slightly to see a huge horde of girls chasing him. He turned the corner and saw another group in front of him. He cut up another hallway and saw that it was blocked as well. He looked around and saw the hallway lined with windows. He opened up a window as quickly as possible, and jumped out, just as the girls were about to reach him. He activated the Freedom and landed in the courtyard. He deactivated it and took off running to the only safe place he could think of, his IS storage area. As he ran, he turned and saw the mass of girls pour out of the school. He saw Kyuubi walking towards him as he was running. The fox gave him a look then noticed the girls behind him. She turned and ran in sync with her master. Naruto saw her beside him and smiled.

"Kyu, escape maneuver 52," he said, and the fox nodded in understanding. They broke apart and Kyuubi ran toward the side. She used her tails to climb to the top of a lamppost and jumped from one to another. She saw her master turn a corner and lose the crowd for a minute. He dived into the bushes and Kyuubi jumped down. The girls turned the corner and looked around for the blonde but couldn't see him. Then they saw Kyuubi in front of them and smiled.

One girl knelt down and scratched her behind the ears. "Can you tell me where your master went?" she ask sweetly. Kyuubi pointed her tails in a direction, away from Naruto. The girl nodded in thanks and the group took off running. Kyuubi watched them go for a few minutes before yipping that the coast was clear. Naruto climbed out of the bushes and sighed.

"That was scary," he said, and petted Kyuubi, much to her delight. "I need to find a partner, and quick, or I might not even make it to the tournament." He got up and headed back towards the school. On his way, he spotted Charles and waved to him.

"Hey man, what is up?" he asked.

"Nothing much, how about you?" Charles replied.

Naruto sighed, "just outran half of the first-year class," he explained. "I need to find a partner for the tournament. Did you find a partner yet?"

Charles frowned. "Sorry, but I'm already paired with Ichika," he explained. Naruto nodded in disappointment.

"That's cool," he shrugged. "I'll just keep looking."

Charles nodded. "Just don't get caught, and try to ask someone in class. Houki doesn't have a partner, so I would try her."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, I think I will" he said satisfied, walking away.

Suddenly, he heard a shout. "There he is!" Naruto turned and saw the group once again.

"CRAP!" he said, and took off running once again. Charles saw him run off at full speed and couldn't help but feel sorry for Naruto. Naruto turned a corner and headed into the school. He ran up the stairs and turned down a hall. As he ran he saw a blur of blue out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Tatenashi running beside him.

"Follow me," she said and Naruto willingly did as he was told. She led him to a room with a sign on it, "Student Council". They went inside and Naruto flopped down in one of the chairs.

"Thanks for the save," he sighed with relief. "I thought I was going to die."

"I don't think they would go _that_ far," she said with a laugh. "They'd probably just injure you so that you can't compete."

Naruto face palmed and sighed. "That would be so much better," he said sarcastically.

"So, how goes the partner hunt?" Tatenashi asked.

"Well, besides running from my life, not bad at all," he said. "Charles recommended I ask Houki Shinonono, but I was spotted before I could look for her."

"I don't think she will agree," Tatenashi said. "She asked Ichika, but he had already partnered with Charles, so she is just going to wait till we draw lots for pairings."

Naruto frowned, "well, that sucks. Know who should I ask?"

"You can ask me, "a voice said from behind them. Naruto turned and saw a girl with dark pink hair, yellow eyes, and hands covered by her sleeves."

"Ok, who are you?" he asked, as he stood ready to bolt out of the room.

She smiled. "I am Honne Nohotoke, I am a member of the Student Council, and in your class." Honne explained. Naruto nodded and thought about for a minute.

"She's a good partner," Tatenashi reassured him. "Honne-chan is a hard worker, just like her sister."

Naruto smiled, relieved. If Tatenashi was vouching for her, he would give her a chance. "So, Honne-chan, would you like to be my partner for the tournament?" he asked.

"I'd love to, Naru," she exclaimed, making him face palm at the nickname.

"Just, Naruto is fine," he corrected, and Honne nodded. "So, do you have an IS to use?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I was going to use one of the Ushigane that the school has," she said.

Naruto grinned. "There is no need for that," he promised. "I have an extra IS you can use."

"Really, wow!" she squealed, hugging him. He blushed a bit because she had a better figure than her clothes let on. "Can we go see it?"

"Yeah," he replied, offering her his arm. "Shall we?"

Honne smiled. "We shall," she agreed, and they left the council room, giving a wave to Tatenashi.

Tatenashi watched the pair as they left. "This is going to be an interesting tournament to watch," she smiled knowingly.

-Outside-

Everyone watched as Naruto and Honne walked towards the IS storage area.

"Damn! Honne beat us to him," one of the girls groaned with sadness. Naruto sighed in relief as many of the girls left the pair alone. As they walked they saw Ichika and Charles walking towards them.

"Hey, Naruto!" Ichika greeted, and walked over to him and Honne.

"What is up, Ichika?" Naruto said, Honne waving happily.

"So, you found your partner yet?" he asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, it's Honne here," he explained and Honne smiled.

"Yep! Me and Naru are partners," she said with a smile.

Charles looked at him, puzzled. "I thought you were going to ask Houki?"

"Couldn't find her," Naruto replied. "So, I ran into Honne here and she was nice enough to agree."

"That's great." Charles agreed. "So where you two headed?"

"To my IS storage area," he explained.

Charles looked at them suspiciously, raising one eyebrow. "What are you going to do there?" he inquired.

Naruto looked at the other blonde boy and shook his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, you pervert." He said making Charles quickly end his line of questioning. "I have an IS that my mom sent me to test, so I am going to let her use_ it,_ instead of one of the school's."

"Oh, ok," Charles responded. "And, sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"Yeah, whatever you say pervert." He teased, making fun of Charles. "Well, we have to go, later guys."

"Later," Ichika and Charles called, in unison. Naruto and Honne walked away and soon reached his IS storage locker. He punched in the code and led her inside.

He lead her towards the Strike and smiled. "Well, here it is," he said, boasting. "This is the Strike."

Honne ran her hand over the IS. "This is so cool. Can I really use it?" she asked, unbelieving. Naruto nodded.

"Ok, I'm going to let you fly around and get use to the system before we start some combat training," he instructed. Honne eagerly nodded in understanding.

"Is there someplace I can change," she asked innocently. He nodded, led her to the control room, and closed the door. He had been waiting a few minutes, when she stepped out wearing her IS piloting outfit. She looked great and Naruto couldn't help but feel a little flushed.

"Why do all the girls at this school have to be hot?" he wondered, as she walked towards him.

"Ready." She stated with a smile. Naruto returned the expression, as she entered the Strike. She brought it into a hover, and flew into the arena. Naruto smiled, and quickly followed after her in the Freedom. She flew next to him, beaming.

"This is so much fun!" She exclaimed, happily. "I never get to do this unless we are in class."

"Well you can do it now," he enlightened her. "I will let you use it when you need to practice."

"Really!" she exclaimed enthusiasticly.

"Yes, really," he stated, sincerely. "Now, let's get practicing. We are going to decimate the competition."

"Yeah!" she exclaimed.

Naruto smiled. "Great, now let me explain what makes the Strike unique."

-SB-

Naruto walked to his dorm, dead tired. He and Honne had trained for hours. She had gotten used to the Strike fairly quickly, so they had been working on useful combo attacks. He was glad he had asked her, rather than someone else, and couldn't wait for the tournament. She made him promise he would take her out, whether or not they won. He willingly agreed, and wondered where he should take her. He was about to enter his room when, he saw Chifuyu standing outside his door.

"Orimura-sensei," he announced, getting her attention.

She turned and looked at him, "Oh, Naruto, didn't see you there."

Naruto was surprised; It was the first time she had used his first name. "Yes Orimura-sensei?"

"I would like to talk to you," she explained, "can you please let me inside."

Naruto nodded, opening the door. He led her inside and she sat down at his desk.

"I going to change. Will you wait here for a moment," he asked. He grabbed some clothes from the dresser and headed into the bathroom. She heard the shower start, and knew he would be a little bit. She didn't mind it though. He had been on her mind most of the day. She remembered the other day when he sat with her for dinner. He didn't talk, but she couldn't get his eyes out of her mind. She looked at his desk and saw it littered with designs. She curiously picked one up, but couldn't make heads or tails of it. She prided herself on know many things about IS, but these designs went over her head. She set them down and looked at the picture frame next to the laptop. It was of Naruto when he was about six, with his mother and his father. She looked at the picture and could see the huge smile on the six-year old's face. She was looking at the picture, when Naruto stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a T-shirt and pajama pants.

He noticed her looking at the picture. "That was a fun day," he recalled, getting Chifuyu's attention. "We went to an amusement park. Dad got one of the guards to take the picture right as the park was closing."

"He sounds like a great man," she answered.

"He was," he corrected with a sad smile.

"Was?" Chifuyu asked, confused.

Naruto nodded, "eight years ago, the complex that housed Konoha Industries was attacked." He explained, "my dad was shot to death, protecting our designs," he stated quickly, looking away. He didn't want her to see his sadness.

"I am sorry," she said. "It is hard to lose a parent."

Naruto nodded slowly, and turned to face her. "So, what would you like to talk about?"

She pondered for a moment. "I was wondering. Why aren't you afraid of me?" she asked.

"What do you mean, afraid of you?" he replied, not understanding the question.

"I mean, most people are afraid to get close to me," she said. "I am Chifuyu Orimura, winner of the first Mondo Grosso. Most people are usually afraid to approach me, yet you are not. Why is that?"

Naruto sat down in a chair across from her. "Well, I really don't care for that," he explained. "I mean, you won the Mondo Grosso, which is a great achievement, but it has nothing to do with how I treat you. You are Chifuyu Orimura, my teacher, dorm monitor, and a woman. I see no point in treating you like monster."

She was shocked by his explanation, but smiled. "Well, thank you," she said. "I have to go. I will see you tomorrow in class."

"See you later, Orimura," he replied.

"Call me Chifuyu, when we're not in class," she corrected, as she left his room.

Naruto smiled, "Good night Chifuyu."

-SB-

Tabane was sitting at her computers, working on an IS design. She stopped for a moment and thought about Naruto.

"Hmm, maybe I should pay Chifuyu a visit," she thought, trying to come up with a plausible excuse to go to the school and see the blonde. She pondered this for a moment before accepting the plan.

"That will work,"she decided and prepared to head to the school. "This is going to be fun."

-SB-

Maya sat on her bed thinking of a certain blonde. She smiled, when she thought of his smile. He was different from others and always seemed to make everyone around him smile. She wondered how she could get closer to him, as sleep slowly overtook her.

-SB-

Naruto sat at his laptop, working on the GN Drive. He couldn't seem to get the compression rate right. He sighed to himself and set to work. As he worked, he couldn't help but think of everyone he had met and wondered where life would take him next. Kyuubi jumped up onto his desk and looked at him.

She gave him a, "what are you thinking about," look.

"Just thinking of different things," he summerised. Kyuubi raised an eyebrow, in disbelief.

She gave him a, "you are thinking about girls aren't you?" look, smiling.

"You know me too well, Kyu," he responded and closed his laptop. He picked up Kyuubi and let her rest in his arms. "Let's get some sleep." He laid down, with Kyuubi curled up beside him. As he fell asleep, the faces of all the girls he had met at the school flashed through his mind.

"Sleep well." He said to himself as he thought of them.

**This is chapter 3 edited, thanks to my best friend and sister Jessica, so give her a round of applause. Really had a lot of fun writing it. Next is probably the double tournament with a little twist and turns. Laura and Ichika are not fight in the first round just to let you know. Naruto need to fight too. As the for pairings I have yet to decide, since I have set up many paths for girls to get close to Naruto. The only defniate is Maya and that's it. There are two or three slot left I can't decide. As always please review and tell me what you REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chifuyu woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed and ready for the day. She smiled, remembering her small talk with Naruto. He was truly one of a kind. He didn't fear, or feel intimidated by her. He simply respected her as an equal, and his teacher. She got out bed and was about to take a shower, when her phone rang.

She left the bathroom, dressed only in a towel, and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"HI, CHI-CHAN," A female voice greeted loudly, making Chifuyu move the phone away from her ear.

"What do you want, Tabane?" she asked hesitantly, rubbing her forehead. Tabane Shinonono was her closest friend; She was also the creator of the IS.

"I was calling to see if I could visit Chi-chan," Tabane sang happily.

Chifuyu frowned. She knew that Tabane never went anywhere, unless it had to do with something she was interested in. "Why do you want to visit?" she questioned, Tabane.

"I want to see Chi-chan, Ikkun, and Houki-chan!" she replied excitedly.

Chifuyu shook her head. "Can't you wait 'til you're finished making Houki's IS, like we planned?" She asked hopefully.

"But, I want to visit now," Tabane whined. "I miss Chi-chan."

"You can't visit," Chifuyu said authoritatively.

"Pretty please," Tabane begged. "I can help analyze the unmanned IS."

Chifuyu stiffened a little, but kept her composer. "How do you know about that?" she asked.

"I am the Great Tabane Shinonono, I know all." Tabane said with excitement, making Chifuyu sigh.

"Fine, you can come visit," Chifuyu relented.

"Yay!" Tabane said.

Chifuyu shook her head, "but, you'll have to visit with Houki and Ickika as well."

"Ok Chi-Chan," Tabane said happily. "I will be there tomorrow."

Chifuyu was surprised by this. "Tabane wa…." she began, but saw that the line was dead. "Damn," she thought, and started to get ready for class. She changed into her dress suit and headed out the door. As she walked, she saw Maya leave her room.

"Morning, Chifuyu," she said with a smile.

"Morning Maya," Chifuyu replied. "Ready for IS practice today?"

Maya nodded. "So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"Well, since the pair tournament is in three days, we can have mock battles between students," she suggested. "But, we must keep Ichika and Laura apart; they will settle their dispute in the tournament."

"Ok," Maya agreed. "Also, Celica and Rin will be let out of the medical wing today. Should we allow them to watch?"

"Yes that fine," Chifuyu decided, as she walked into the dining hall. She gathered her food and sat with Maya at a table by the window. She looked outside and watched the world wake. Suddenly a blonde blur sped past her, followed by a small red one. She focused in on the blurs and saw that it was Naruto, and his nine-tailed fox. When she first saw the fox, she was surprised by its tails, but that's what made it unique. What she did noticed about the blonde, was that he was running shirtless. She blushed a little, as she looked over his body. He was very toned, and had only a few scars around his chest. She wondered how he had gotten those marks. He stopped for a moment, and picked up a water bottle. He drank some, before dumping some on his hair. The water flowed down his head to his chest making Chifuyu blush even more.

"Someone his age can't look that good," she thought to herself, but quickly ended that line of thinking. "He is my student," she chided herself. "I am his teacher."

Suddenly she heard her name, and saw Maya talking to her. She turned and faced the other girl, "Yes?"

"I was asking if you were going to the teachers meeting later," Maya repeated and Chifuyu replied, affirmatively.

Maya wondered what Chifuyu was distracted by, and looked out the window. She saw Naruto and felt her face flush. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He was on the ground doing knuckle push-ups. She could see his muscles expand and contract with each repetition. She started to count in her head, completely forgetting about her food. Chifuyu noticed this and got up, she kept her view away from the window, not wanting to get captured like Maya.

Maya reached 150 before she saw the students trickle in. She quickly looked away and tried to hide her reddened face. She picked up her food tray and headed towards her room. She needed a cold shower after watching the blonde.

-With Naruto-

Naruto had just finished his push-ups and started his sit-ups. He did this about three times a week, out of habit. Back home, he would usually begin his routine in the afternoon, but decided to do it during the morning in hopes of avoiding being caught without a shirt. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the time. Many of the girls had already left their dorms and were eating breakfast. One of the girls noticed him as he was on his tenth sit-up, and stared. She had never seen anyone that hot before. Her friend tried to get her attention and turned to see what she was looking at. She too was captured under Naruto's spell.

Kyuubi watched the girls and snickered; She walked over to Naruto and lay on his stomach, making him change from sit-ups to crunches, so as not to hurt her. The girls watched as he continued to exercise. Ichika entered the dining room and noticed all of the girls staring out the window.

"I wonder what they are looking at," he thought.

Charles noticed this as well and turned to his friend. "Let see what the big commotion is," he suggested and Ichika agreed. They reached an open window and saw Naruto exercising. What surprised them the most was that he was shirtless. Charles grew wide-eyed and Ichika couldn't help but admit that he had some muscle. Naruto finally finished his workout and stood up. He grabbed his towel, turned, and saw everyone staring at him. Naruto could see the hunger in some of the girls' eyes and gave a little wave. They eagerly waved back as he started to walk back to his dorm room.

"They don't make them like that anymore," One of the girls stated plainly, and everyone nodded, including Charles.

-SB-

Naruto exited his room, fully clothed, only to meet Tatenashi, waiting outside his door.

"Hey Tatena," He greeted, wondering why she was there.

"Hey Na-ru-to," she said emphasizing each syllable and pushed him against the wall. "I heard you put on a show this morning."

Naruto blushed as she leaned in close. "I.I..I didn't put on a show," Naruto stammered. "I.I.I… was just working out."

"Well, you should have invited me," she whispered into his ear, making him shiver. She leaned away from him and walked away. "Invite me next time."

He slowly nodded, his eyes glazed over. "I need a shower," he said to himself, and walked back into the room, turning on the water to the coldest setting.

-Later on in class-

Naruto ran into the classroom, right as the bell rang. "Made it," he sighed, relieved, and sat down at his desk. Everyone looked at him as he sat down. Many of girls were blushing. He gave a quick smile and sat down. Maya was in the front of the classroom when she saw Naruto. Her face turned a slight red, but it quickly faded away.

"Ok, today we are going to have practical IS practice, to get prepared for the tournament. So, please go and change."

Naruto, Ichika, and Charles left the room and headed to change. What Naruto didn't notice, was that Charles was blushing the entire wIn the dressing room, Charles couldn't keep his eyes off the blonde. Naruto finally noticed him staring and stared back.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked. Charles just looked away, nodding. Naruto eyed him and continued to change. They finished and headed out to the arena. Chifuyu and Maya stood in the center, surrounded by the girls from the class. Naruto, Ichika, and Charles joined them and waited for instructions.

Chifuyu saw that everyone was present. "Ok, we are going to have practice battles to help everyone learn how to fight with a partner. People who have a partner, stand over by Maya. Everyone else stand by me. Your pairing will be drawn at random."

Honne smiled as Naruto walked over to her. "Ready Naruto?" she asked and Naruto grinned.

"Of course!" he said. "This will give us the experience we need, to be ready for the tournament."

"Ok," Honne said with a smile, and hugged him. Naruto blushed a bit and patted her on the head. After everyone was put into pairings, they waited for the names to be called. Naruto and Honne waited in the stands as they watched Ichika and Charles, fight against a pair of girls using the school issued IS.

"This is boring," he concluded, and Honne looked at him with confusion.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Ichika and Charles work well together, but the other two are not working together at all." He said, watching one of the girls attack, only to get in the way of her partner. "In a pairs competition you have to work with your partner, you need to talk, not just attack and hope they pick up on what you're up to."

"Oh," Honne replied, understanding. "So, a good pair is always talking, and helping each other."

"That exactly right," he said. Honne smiled and he smiled back. He was about to turn back and watch the match, when he noticed Cecilia sitting by herself, bandages covered her arms. He had heard of her fight against Laura, and how badly she was beaten. Next to her was Rin, looking pretty much the same. He watched them for a moment before turning back to the match. He hoped that they were ok.

-SB-

Cecilia watched the fights and sighed. She longed to be out there, in her Blue Tears. "This stinks," she exclaimed. Rin sighed in agreement.

"You can say that again," Rin replied.

They were both silent for a moment. "So how goes the repairs on Blue Tears?" Rin asked. Cecilia rolled her eyes.

"They are not going anywhere," she grumbled. "The repair team has yet to start."

Rin patted her friend on the shoulder, as she noticed Naruto looking over at them. She looked back, but he seemed not to notice. She had heard the rumor that he had built his own IS, but had yet to see it with her own eyes. Her own repair team had already started to work on Shen Long, but she wanted to help Cecilia

"Why don't you ask Naruto to help you?" she said, making Celica look at her with confusion.

"Why should I ask him?" She questioned.

"I heard that he built his IS," Rin replied. "So if he did, he can help you repair Blue Tears."

Cecilia looked at the blonde and pondered over this suggestion. She vowed to ask him once class was over.

-SB-

Naruto's and Honne's names were finally called. "Let's go," Naruto said. Honne cheered. They headed into the IS launch area and activated their IS. Honne had the Launcher Striker equipped to the Strike while Naruto looked on.

"So, ready to get to know the Strike?" he asked Honne. She nodded excitedly.

"Let's win this!" she exclaimed, and they flew out into the arena. They floated in the middle of the battlefield and waited for their opponents. A few moments later Laura and Houki flew out. Houki was using an Uchigane, provided by the school. Laura looked at Naruto and Honne with a sneer.

"This will end quickly." She figured, and prepared to fight. Naruto looked at her IS and could feel that it was going to be a tough fight. It was all black witha large cannon on her shoulder. Naruto narrowed his eyes and opened a private channel with Honne."

"Let me deal with Laura," he said. "Use the launcher, then switch to Sword, depending on how she does against the Launcher. If you need help, flag me."

Honne gave him an understanding look and turned to Houki. Maya saw that the pairs were ready and smiled. "Begin the match," she called over the speakers. Naruto lunged forward. He brought his beam saber out, quickly charged.

"Idiot," she murmured, and stuck out her hand. Naruto suddenly stopped.

"What the hell," he thought as Laura smiled at him.

"You can't hurt me," she said defiantly, "Nothing can get past my AIC."

"AIC?" Naruto thought, and tried to move. He pushed his thruster higher and got some movement. He pushed further and Laura felt her IS move backwards.

"What's going on?" She said with a frown, and aimed her particle cannon at Naruto. He pushed his thrusters and fired his waist blaster at the ground, allowing him to move out of the way. He flew above her and rained down blaster fire. She had to move out of the way quickly or take a hit. Naruto flew back a bit and studied her.

"Damn," he thought. "She can stop my charge. Her machine must be equipped with some kind of momentum canceller. Need to get past that." Before he could think about it more, he watched as five spear-tipped strings flew towards him. Naruto push his thrusters, and dodged to the side, he saw that Laura was standing, there controlling the strings. He dodged to the side and headed towards the wall. Everyone watched as he charged forward.

"He's going to crash," one of the girls shouted. Suddenly he shot up, and the strings slammed into the walls. Naruto flew upwards and flipped before raining fire on Laura once again. She frowned and dodged the fire.

"Grr," She growled, and tried to get back into the fight, but Naruto wouldn't let her move. Her shields were dropping. She targeted him with her shoulder cannon, and fired. Naruto dodged and fired back. He kept up his rate of fire and looked over to Honne. She was still equipped with the Launcher Striker. She had Houki pinned down in a corner, firing off her main cannon. Houki dodged to the side, and tried to charge forward, but was met with a face full of missiles.

"Damn!" she grumbled, and tried to dodge, only to take another cannon blast. Her shield dropped low. She finally got an opening and ran forward. Honne flew back, but Houki was able to destroy the main cannon. Naruto saw that she was in trouble and opened a channel.

"Watch it, Honne," he warned. She fired off a barrage of missiles and flew backwards. She wanted to test a different weapon system, so she gave herself some extra time.

"Switching to Sword Striker," she announced. Everyone watched the equipment change. The green armor she was wearing, disappeared. It was replaced by a light-blue armor. The entire change took only about 1.5 seconds. Honne drew her sword and charged. Houki had just cleared the missiles and was surrounded by smoke. She suddenly saw a red glow coming through the mist. She brought up her sword, blocking the incoming attack. She was pushed back a bit when suddenly, a fist came flying out and hit her in the face. She fell to the ground and saw Honne holding a sword. Houki frowned and attacked. She stabbed at Honne, who blocked with her blade, and kicked Houki in her stomach. Houki stumbled back but pushed onward. Honne was soon put on the defensive, as Houki took control of the fight, due to her superior skills with a sword. Houki blocked Honne's strike and brought her blade towards Honne's left side. Honne took the brunt of the attack and flew to the side.

"Dang," Honne said, moving out of the way, as Houki tried to strike her. She pushed forward and brought her blade down on Houki. Houki was already attacking the sides and couldn't block. Both attacks connected and both machines shields fell to zero.

Houki just stood there. "Damn," she said, and looked over at Honne.

Honne had a smile on her face. "That was fun, Houki!" she exclaimed. "We should do that again."

Houki smiled at Honne antics and nodded. "Yeah we should."

They were abruptly pulled out of their conversation when they heard an explosion fill the air. Both girls turned and saw Laura and Naruto in a heated battle. Laura was firing blast after blast at Naruto with her shoulder cannon, which he blocked with his shield, returning fire. She blocked the attack with her AIC, making Naruto frown.

"Damn, I can't get a hit," he said to himself, and blocked one of Laura's attacks. He fired back and wondered his next strategy should be. He looked at her and saw that physical bullets couldn't penetrate her AIC, but what about a blast of energy. "Might as well try it now," he said to himself. He activated Full-Burst Mode. He unfolded two blasters attached to his legs and attached them together. He aimed at Laura and fired. Laura held up her hand to block the attack but it had no effect, she was hit by the full force of the blast.

"Wha.. what was that?" she thought as she looked up at the Freedom. Everyone watched in awe at the blast and wondered what weapon he was using. Naruto folded the weapon back into his legs and charged forward. He flew towards Laura at amazing speeds, beam saber out, but suddenly an error warning flashed in his screen, shutting down all his systems. Everyone watched as he suddenly stopped, and The Freedom went into standby mode.

"Damn, still can't use it," he reluctantly said to himself. He looked over at Laura and gave her a smile. "Great battle, it showed me what I needed to do, to make the Freedom better, thanks."

Laura looked at him with an odd look on her face. Naruto stared back, wondering what she was thinking. "Hello?" he asked, making Laura blink.

"What was that last attack?" she demanded, as she came back to herself.

Naruto looked at her. "It was a railgun," he replied.

She looked at him with shock. "A railgun, but that's impossible," she exclaimed.

"Not really," he explained. "It just takes a lot of power, most people can't seem to find the right, power to charge value, to make it work, but I got it down. I can only fire it off in Full-Burst Mode."

Laura looked at him and nodded. He smiled and walked over to Honne and together they headed into the stands. He had made a weapon that most governments were still working on, in the development stage, but he had made it and used it.

"I have to watch him, he could be a threat." She said and watched the blonde.

-SB-

It was after the battle and the end of class, everyone went to change. Naruto was changing but was also trying to think of a way to make Full-Burst Mode stay activated for a while, so he could use his railguns and plasma cannons. He could use them to shoot regular laser but he couldn't stay in Burst Mode long enough to get a consistent rate of fire.

"Maybe I should change the power connection, so the power flow is better." He mumbled to himself as he changed. He headed out of the locker room, notebook in hand. He was busy scribbling notes into his notebook, oblivious to the world around him. As he walked he didn't notice Cecilia walk towards him.

She walked next to him and tried to get his attention. "Um, excuse me," she said, interrupting his train of thought.

"Hey, Cecilia what can I do for you," he said, looking up from his notes.

Cecilia smiled. "I was wondering if the rumors are true. Did you really build you IS?" she asked him.

"Yeah I did," he stated, matter-of-factly. "It took me awhile, but it was fun."

Cecilia looked at him and was silent for a moment. "Well, I was hoping you could help me. Help me repair my IS Blue Tears." She asked him hesitantly. He responded with a surprised look.

"Maybe," he said, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation.

"Maybe?" Cecilia questioned, wondering what was going on in his mind.

"Yes, maybe," he reiterated. "I am always trying to improve _my_ IS, so if you let me study one part of _yours,_ I help you."

Cecilia looked at him with wearily. She didn't want to let him study the Blue Tears, but she needed it up and running as soon as possible. "That is fine," she replied. "When can you start?"

"Let me get my tools, and we can start today," he said. Cecilia nodded vigoriously. They headed towards Naruto's IS Storage area. He entered and headed towards his tool chest, making sure everything was in there. Kyuubi was hanging out there, and walked over to Naruto. She saw Cecilia and looked at her, questioning. "Who are you?" she said with her look.

Cecilia looked back at the fox, and wondered why she was staring at her. Naruto noticed Kyuubi's curious glance at Cecilia. "That is Cecilia. She is in my class," he explained. Kyuubi nodded understandingly. She jumped up on his shoulder before he stood up, his tools in a rolling case behind him.

"Lead the way," he said. Cecilia led them to an IS storage area, on the other end of the campus. She punched in her key code and lead Naruto inside. Naruto looked over at Blue Tears and could see the extensive damage. He walked over and headed over to the computer. He quickly ran a system check on all of the Blue Tears systems, to see what he needed to work on.

"Kyu, I need you to set the tools out," he ordered, as he ran over the schematics. Cecilia watched as the fox dropped off his shoulder, and push the tools towards her IS. She opened the latch with her tails, and opened the case wide. Cecilia was surprised at all the tools he had. She even saw some that were made specifically for IS. Kyuubi yipped and Naruto nodded. "Thanks Kyu."

"Man, this is going to be a lot of work," Naruto concluded. "You've lost most of your thruster linkage, the right stabilizer, and your flight system is shot. Your movement systems need a replacement. I have to remove and replace all of the stabilizers in nearly all of the bits. The rest is just cosmetic."

Cecilia nodded and turned to leave, when he stopped her. "Hey, where are you going?" he questioned, making her turn.

"To leave you to your work," she replied. Naruto just shook his head.

"No, you're not," he demanded. "You're going to help."

"But, I don't know _how_ to fix an IS," she admitted.

Naruto smiled. "I'll be here to help and it's good for you to know how to fix Blue Tears, if it ever gets damaged again," he explained, and headed towards his tool set. Cecilia stood frozen for a moment, "Well, come on, we haven't got all day."

Cecilia nodded and ran over to Naruto. He smiled. "Ok, let's get started." He led her to the main computer and glance at her. "First we are going to order the parts we need to fix the thrusters and bits."

"Ok," she said, walking to the back room. "We keep extra parts back here. "

"Great, let's get the parts we need," he said, looking around. He was amazed at all of the parts available. "This is going to be harder than I thought," he said with determination and Cecilia giggled. He looked at her and sighed. "Ok, you take the right, I'll take the left. We need stabilizers and thruster linkage cables."

"Got it," Cecilia replied, and started to look for the needed parts. She looked through the stacks and found the stabilizers. "Found them!" She called and went to reach for them. Unfortunately for her, they were on the top shelf. As her fingers brushed the boxes, she fell over, causing the boxes to fall on top of her. Naruto heard the sound and watched as the tower of parts and cardboard fell.

"HELP ME!" she cried. Naruto ran to her aid. He removed the boxes and finally reached her. She was on her back, legs in the air. Naruto blushed as he got a good look at her panties.

"Black lace, very sexy," he thought, briefly. He picked her up, bridal style and lifted her out of the mess. Cecilia felt her face flush, unable to hide her embarrassment. He set her on her feet. "Are you ok?" he asked. She nodded quickly, trying to hide her reddened. "Well, I'll get the parts. You head outside and sit down," he ordered. Cecilia complied, willingly. She sat down and Kyuubi jumped in her lap. She petted the fox and waited for Naruto's return. He was out of the storage room with several boxes in hand.

"Is that everything we need?" she asked. Naruto nodded affirmatively.

"Pretty much," he said. "We can at least get the bits up and running today. I have to look over the designs to make sure I can get the thruster linkage at the right length."

"Ok." Cecilia said and got up. She followed him over to Blue Tears and watched him detach every bit.

"Ok, open the boxes for me, and put the parts on top," he began. Cecilia nodded. She did as she was told and soon all of the stabilizers were out of the boxes. Naruto finished detaching the final bit and smiled.

"This is going to be a little messy, so if you don't want to get something dirty, take it off now," he warned, and took of his jacket. Cecilia nodded and did the same. She was surprised when Naruto took off his shirt as well. He smiled at her, then looked to Kyuubi. "Kyu, we need the magnetic screwdriver and the stabilizer complink."

The fox nodded and disappeared into the toolbox. Cecilia wasn't really paying attention, her eyes focused on the, now shirtless boy, next to her. She was pulled out of her musing when she heard her name being called, and saw Naruto and Kyuubi staring at her.

"You ok," he asked. She nodded trying to block the excessive color from reaching her face again. He looked at her for a moment, before showing her the tools they would be using. "Ok, first we need to take the bit, and open the top panel," he said and unscrewed the screws holding the panel in place. Cecilia nodded as he worked, but kept glancing at him from time to time. Once the panel was off, Naruto set down the screw driver and picked up the stabilizer cuplink. He connected it to the broken stabilizer, pulled up, popped it out and caught it in his hand. He then picked up one of the new stabilizers and inserted it in. He made sure everything was linked before adding a little power to the bit. It flew into the air and hovered, perfectly leveled.

"That," he said proudly, "is how you fix a bit." Handing her the screwdriver, "Now you try."

Cecilia took the screwdriver from him. She grabbed the bit and started to take the top off, when she dropped the screwdriver. She picked it up and tried again, but it seemed that the screw didn't want to come out. She kept trying, but suddenly felt a weight against her back.

"Don't force it," Naruto whispered in her ear. He guided her hand and showed her what to do. Cecilia blushed the entire time but was able to pay attention long enough to learn how to remove the top. He guided her hand on every step until the bit was fixed. She watched as it flew in the air and stabilized. She was proud of her accomplishment, and Naruto gave her a smile. "See, it's not that hard."

"Yeah" she said, beaming back at him.

-SB-

Naruto walked to his dorm with a smile on his face. He'd helped Cecilia fix all of the bits on her machine and got the data on how they worked. He was quite pleased with himself as he reached his dorm room. He opened the door and walked inside, only to see Tatenashi lying on his bed, in nothing but a tank-top and Sophie shorts.

"Hey, Naruto," she sang as she saw him. "I was wondering when you were getting back."

"Hey Tatenashi," he responded, questioning. "How did you get in here?"

Tatenashi smiled, "It is one of the perks of being Student Council President," she explained, rising from the bed.

"Well, that is nice to know," he responded. She walked towards him with a sultry smile on her face, pushed him into a chair, and straddled him.

"Naruto, can I ask you something?" she asked sweetly. Naruto just nodded, blankly. He tried to keep his eyes at her face, and not look down. Tatenashi smiled.

"Wh…what is it?" he muttered trying to think straight.

She leaned in close and whispered. "I have a plan to help the school, but I need someone help. Will you help me?"

Naruto blushed brightly. "Sure, I'd love to help," he squeaked. Tatenashi smiled.

"Great!" She said, rising from his lap. "I'll see you in the student council room tomorrow." She waved to him and left his room. Naruto sat there frozen for a minute. It finally registered to him that she was gone and looked around the room.

"What, in the world, did I get myself into?" he frantically wondered as he stood up, heading for another cold shower.

-SB-

Maya was headed towards Naruto's room; She hadn't talked to him in a while and wondered how he was doing. She had missed seeing him at dinner, so she decided to bring him some food she had made. As she was about to reach his room he saw Tatenashi, walking out. She was wearing very skimpy clothing that Maya didn't approve of.

"Tatenashi, what brings you to the first year dorms?" she asked the second year student.

"Oh, I was just visiting a friend." she said and Maya frowned.

"Which friend?" Maya asked, already sure of the answer.

Tatenashi grinned brightly. "Naruto, of course," she said. "He is a good friend."

"I would prefer, if you didn't visit him in his dorm," Maya stated. Tatenashi frowned.

"Why is that, Yamada-sensei?" she asked, not wanting anyone to ruin her time with Naruto.

"It is improper for a girl to be alone with a boy in a bedroom," Maya stated, trying not to blush.

"That a lame excuse," Tatenashi grumbled. She then noticed that Maya was holding a basket. "Yamada-sensei, why are _you_ here?"

Maya blushed but quickly regained her composure. "That is none of your concern."

"You are going to visit Naruto aren't you?" Tatenashi presumed. Maya blushed confirming her suspicion. "I knew it! Isn't improper for a girl to be alone with a boy?"

"I said it was none of your concern," Maya snapped, with a hint of anger. "Please head to your dorms, Tatenashi."

Tatenashi nodded and walked next to Maya. She stopped and looked at the older girl. "I won't let you have him that easily you know," she said walking away.

Maya watched as Tatenashi disappeared around the corner. "I won't let _you_ have him," she thought to herself and continued onto his room.

-SB-

Naruto stepped out of the shower in nothing but a towel. He was about to grab his clothes, when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door and saw Maya standing there, basket in hand.

"Hey, Maya," he said with a smile, as she blushed at his half-naked form.

"He…hello Naruto," she said. "I brought dinner, can I come inside?"

Naruto agreed. "Sure come on in," he said letting her inside. "I'll be out in a sec."

He grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom. Maya sat down at the desk and opened the basket; it was full of tasty rice balls and ramen. Naruto came out fully dressed and smiled at the meal.

"Thanks Maya, I'm starved." he said, taking a bite.

"I can see that," She said with a smirk. "So, Naruto, how have you been?"

"I am doing great," he replied, as he set down the ramen bowl. "I have just been working on the Freedom, practicing with Honne for the tournament, and hanging out with Tatenashi."

Maya frowned at Tatenashi name, but didn't let it show. "How do you know Tatenashi?" she asked.

"I ran into her on my second day here," he explained. "She was here in the first year dorms, she said she was looking for the male pilots, when she ran into me. She and I have been hanging out ever since."

"That's nice," she politely responded, but inwardly she frowned. "She is further than me," she determined. "I need to catch up." Suddenly Maya's eyes brightened.

"Naruto, remember when you asked me to spar with you sometime?" Maya asked eagerly. Naruto nodded. "Well, I am free tomorrow, if you want to spar."

"That'll be awesome," Naruto said with a smile.

"Great! It's a date," she said, blushing at what she had just said. Naruto nodded. Soon their conversation turned light, and they were laughing into the night.

-SB-

Naruto stirred as the sun hit his face. He opened his eyes and saw Kyuubi lying next to him,her tails wrapped around her small form. He stroked her fur before getting out of bed. As he got up he noticed someone sitting at his desk. She was tall with long purple hair, wearing a frilly, blue, maid outfit with two robotic bunny ears on top of her head. She was typing away, on his laptop. Naruto got up and bolted towards her. He tackled her out of the chair, and held her down to the ground.

"Who are you and what are you doing on my laptop!" Naruto demanded, looking at the girl below him. She had purple eyes and a frown on her face.

"Awe, I wanted to see Naru-kun's designs," she whined, pouting. Naruto tried not to find this cute, but blushed a bit.

"You're not getting my designs," he exclaimed.

"But, I don't want your designs Naru-kun," she said. "I want to help with them."

Naruto looked at her, "Who are you?" he questioned.

"I am Tabane," she replied happily. "Tabane Shinonono,"

** This is chapter 4, it has been edit , so give jessica a round of applause and a thank you when you review. man this was a fun to write but I think I'm going to work on my other stories a bit before writing another chapter of this. I really like the comments I am getting and really like all the feedback. Also when you review this chapter please tell me what parts were funny, what parts I need to improve, and what parts made you feel. I really and enjoying writing this story and really happy you all are enjoying reading it. As always, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto looked at the girl before him, with his mouth open. "Tabane Shinonono?" he thought, as he slowly let her up. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see Naru-kun!" she said excitedly.

Naruto looked at her with confusion. "How do I know you? I have never met you in my life." He stated. Tabane cried large, anime tears.

"Whaa, Naru-kun doesn't remember me," she whined. "We always talk on the computer."

Naruto thought for a moment before the light bulb went off in his head. "Oh you're _that_ Tabane," he exclaimed, with realization, and offered her a hand. She took his hand, and he helped her up. "Sorry about that. I just don't like it when people touch my laptop."

"I'm sorry Naru-kun," she pouted. "I won't do it again."

Naruto smiled at her. "It's ok, just make sure to ask next time," He advised.

"Ok! Naru-kun," she agreed, with a beaming grim, and then tackled him to the ground. "I am really happy to finally meet you!"

"Same here." he replied. "So, did you see any of my designs?" a knowing smile on his face.

"No," she whined. "Though, I was about to get past the third firewall."

"Too bad," he said, without surprise. "You had at least another three more to go."

"That's not fair," she grumbled.

"You could have asked me, instead of trying to hack my computer," he laughed, making her pout even more. He walked over to the laptop. "Here, let me show you."

He quickly typed in the password, and the designs popped up on the screen. Tabane looked at the designs, astonished as to how intricate they were. The flow of cables, the compression of gases, and the equations that made it all work together. She looked at the plans, and took a moment to fully understand them.

"So, you want to compress the gases into particles, to provide, more-than-normal energy," she deduced, as she looked over them.

"Yeah, that's the basic idea," he confirmed. "I am trying to make a new engine for the IS, so we don't need to recharge them."

"Yes, this would improve power output, and overall performance, but it is the compression of gases that is stopping the project," she decided as she looked over his test data.

"Yeah, that's the problem," he mumbled. "I am still trying to figure it out, but nothing is coming up."

Tabane nodded. "Gas compression is very hard to do, in such a small scale, for that much power output," she surmised.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Now, let's take a look at this," he began, pulling up another design. "This is something called, the Dragoon system."

-SB-

Chifuyu searched the campus for Tabane. She was worried about what she was up to and wanted to find her, before she caused any damage. She expected her to show up in her room that morning, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where is she?" she thought, as she walked through the dorms.

As she walked down the hall, she heard a shout. "Hey, don't touch that!"

She headed toward the voice, when she heard a second voice she couldn't deny recognizing. "But it's so big, I can't help but touch it."

She reached the door and listened. "Fine, you can touch, but be gentle." She soon realized that she knew this voice as well.

"That's Naruto! Why is Tabane in Naruto's room?" she questioned, reaching for her master key.

"He…hey, not so fast," he cautioned, making Chifuyu blush. Her mind flooded with ideas as to what was going on. She quickly shook the thoughts away, and opened the door. She walked in, and saw Tabane on her knees, Naruto's back faced the door.

"WHAT, ARE YOU DOING!" she shouted causing the pair to turn. In Tabane's hand was a blue tube that seemed pointed at one end.

"CHI-CHAN!" Tabane shouted, dropping the cylinder she held. Naruto managed to quickly grab it before it fell. "I'm so happy to see you! Naru-kun was showing me his new bit he was working on, and his other designs. It was fun."

Chifuyu sighed and shook her head. "Tabane, why are you in Naruto's room?"

"I wanted to visit Naru-kun. He is fun." she beamed eagerly. Chifuyu looked curiously to her friend and wondered how Tabane would have ever met the blonde.

"How do you know him?" she questioned.

Tabane smiled, "I talk to Naru-kun all the time, right Naru-kun." she explained, looking at Naruto, for conformation.

Naruto sighed and nodded. "She's been talking to me ever since I got to school," he began. "It was the first night here, I saw a chat window open on my laptop, and I've been talking to her ever since."

"See! Chi-chan,"she responded happily. Chifuyu frowned.

"Why is Tabane interested in him," she thought to herself. She turned to her friend. "You visited Naruto, now let's go,"she ordered.

Tabane ran behind Naruto, shaking her head. "No, I want to hang out with Naru-kun," she whined. Chifuyu sighed heavily. She was in no mood to deal with Tabane's childish behavior.

"Fine! He can come," she relented. She wanted Tabane out of sight as soon as possible, for her own safety.

"Yay!" she shouted, dragging Naruto with her, toward the door. Naruto struggled to get out of her firm grip. He was not about to leave his room in his sleeping clothes. Chifuyu finally noticed Naruto's hesitation, and stopped Tabane.

"Let him change first, then we can go," she suggested.

"Ok, go change Naru-kun," she instructed. Naruto walked back toward his dresser, giving Chifuyu a small nod in thanks. He quickly changed into a pair of jeans, and a faded orange T-shirt, with a red spiral on the back. Kyuubi ran towards him and jumped on his shoulder.

"Ready," he announced. Chifuyu nodded, leading them out of the room.

-Underground research area-

Naruto was in awe as they entered the research area. He drooled over all of the computers and parts lying around. His eyes glazed over, as he sat, mesmerized at the screens and designs on them. Chifuyu looked at him and shook her head; He looked just like a kid in a candy store.

"Stop staring," she demanded. He gave her a wicked smile, in response.

"Fine, I will look at _you_ then," he said proudly. "It's a better view anyway."

Chifuyu blushed. She expected him to obey her orders without questions. He had turned the tables on her, and had the audacity to flirt with her. She had no idea how to react and could only see the sly smirk on his face. She looked at him, then quickly turned away. "Just stay with us," she ordered, "and keep your eyes up, if you want to keep them."

Naruto smiled deviously, wondering how far he could go, before she beat him to a bloody mess. "Hey, if that happened, I can say I lost my sight to a beauty such as yours."

"Damn him!" she thought, flustered. Not only was he flirting with her, but he didn't seem to care if he got hurt or not.

She was about to yell at him when Tabane said, "Oh, there it is!" She grabbed Naruto and pulled him toward the unmanned IS. "Look, Naru-kun."

Naruto looked over the IS, with awe. It was 2 meters tall and all black. Its arms were longer than a normal IS, with oversized fists. He couldn't help but marvel at the machine. He saw Tabane was seated at the computer, running through the tests that had already been performed on the IS. Naruto sat down next to her, to join her. Chifuyu watched as both, soon had the same expression on their face. It was full of understanding. Every word, every number, every equations was something they seem to be familiar with.

"So, _that_ how they got the IS to move," Naruto realized.

"Yes, it seems that this equation went through the computer, allowing for complex actions to be performed," Tabane explained.

Naruto nodded. "It is a good equation, but they should have changed the variables allowing for it to move faster, and react better in battling situations."

Tabane looked up, and saw what he talking about. "That is true, but then you'd have to change the linkage here to make up for the faster processing of information," she observed.

"True, but if you bypass here, and link this to the man computer, you don't need that linkage at all. You can use it as a failsafe if this one fails here," he stated, pointing to a part of the design.

Tabane listened as he talked; She was surprised at his thought process. It did exactly what he need it to do, without wasting any parts. She watched his face as he studied the IS and couldn't help but feel her heart quicken. He looked so serious, and she couldn't deny that he was handsome. She blushed as a small line appeared on his forehead. He seemed to be in deep thought, as he looked a certain part of the design.

"Oh, that's how it works," he concluded with a smile that made Tabane blush a bit harder. "So, with this program, the IS identifies its targets, and computes the best way to beat them."

Tabane quickly turned and looked at the part he was showing her in hopes of hiding her face. "Oh, you're right," she agreed. "It is an amazing piece of code."

"Yes it is," he said with a grin. "So, shall we take this thing apart now?"

Tabane suddenly pulled her tools out of nowhere. "Let's do it!" she said eagerly.

"Yeah, let's," he chimed. "Kyu," the fox hopped of his shoulder and opened her tails revealing tools.

Chifuyu watched in awe as the pair started to dismantle the IS, with amazing speeds.

"I think I will go and get ready for class," she said to herself, and left the pair to their work.

-Later on-

Naruto ran at full speed to class. He had lost track of time, as he helped take apart the unmanned IS. It had given him enough information to get his Dragoon system up and running. He reached the classroom door, and ran inside. Everyone looked at him with surprise.

"Naruto, glad you could join us," Chifuyu greeted. Naruto gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," he explained, as he sat in his seat.

Chifuyu looked at him knowingly. "Sure you did," she muttered. Many of the girls looked at him wondering what that comment had meant.

Naruto sat down and laid his head on the desk. Everyone was looking at him. He lifted his head up and gave them all, the sultry, Naruto. As usual, the result was a room full of red faces. Everyone turned away blushing, even Charles. Naruto watched that, and cringed a little. He sighed to himself and opened a new file. He had to begin his work on fixing the Dragoon system.

-after class-

Naruto walked out of the classroom, only to be tackled to the ground by a blue blur. He looked up to see who was on top of him, and saw Honne.

"Hi Naruto!" she said, sitting on the blonde.

"Hey Honne," he said with confusion on his face. "What's up?"

Honne smiled, "Tatenashi sent me to get you," she explained, standing up. She grabbed his arm and started to drag him behind her. "Let's go."

Naruto tried to stand, but Honne was moving too fast. "She is strong, for a girl," he thought as they arrived at the Student Council Room. He walked in and saw Tatenashi and a girl who looked like, an older Honne, sitting there.

"Naruto, it is nice to see you," she greeted warmly.

"Hey, Tatenashi, and friend," he said, wondering what he had just walked in to.

The newcomer wore glasses, and had pink hair in a ponytail. "Hello, I am Utsuho Nohotoke."

"It is nice to meet you," he replied as he sat down.

Utsuho smiled and him and nodded. "I want to thank you for partnering with my sister in the tournament. She can't stop talking about it."

Naruto smiled, "it's my pleasure," he said. "She is a great partner."

Honne grinned happily. Tatenashi watched this and smiled. "Well then, let's get down to business." she directed.

"Ok, what do you need my help with?" he questioned, looking at Tatenashi.

Tatenashi smiled at him. "Well, I was wondering if you are going to join a club?" she asked him.

Naruto thought for a moment before answering. "Probably not," he concluded. "Many of the clubs don't interest me."

"Well, I need you to join one," she repeated, making Naruto look at her with confusion.

"You want me to join a club?" he asked, "Why?"

Tatenashi flashed a smile at him. "It will boost the girls' activities and also allow you to meet more of the school," she responded. Naruto remained unconvinced.

"I can see your point, but if I join one club, the others will be left out," he reasoned. "So it is probably best for me to not join any of them."

Tatenashi nodded in agreement; The smile on her face slowly growing wider. "I have a plan for that," she exclaimed. Suddenly a sign unfolded behind her. "Welcome Vice-President Naruto Namikaze," was written in large letters on the sign.

Naruto looked at this, with shock. "I'm the, what!" he shouted, stunned, making Tatenashi giggle.

"You're the vice-president of the student council, silly," she said. "Now you can take in part in the "Naruto Rental" initiative," she beamed. Naruto's response was a look of even more confusion. "Let me explain. This is a program where, the clubs will rent you, and you participate in their club for that day."

"So, basically, I am being rented out," he realized with a frown. "What makes you think I will agree to that?"

Tatenashi smiled. "Simple, because you will." She said then leaned in and whispered, "I will give you treat if you do."

Naruto absentmindedly nodded his head in agreement, his brain turned to mush as he wondered what the "treat" could possibly be. Tatenashi smiled, satisfied. "Great, we will start after summer break," she said and got up.

The fog in Naruto 's mind finally lifted, "Ok," he wispered.

"Great," Tatenashi said, and kissed Naruto on the cheek. "I will see you at the next student council meeting."

Naruto blushed and nodded. Honne and Utsuho could only watch, wondering what this encounter meant, between the president and vice-president.

-SB-

Chifuyu went back to the underground research area, and found Tabane still working on the unmanned IS. Most of the parts were removed, and cataloged for future study. She seemed to be going over one of the booster on the IS, when Tabane noticed Chifuyu.

"Chi-chan!" she greeted, eagerly, and walked over to her with a smile.

"How goes the analysis?" Chifuyu asked.

Tabane grinned. "It's almost done. Naru-kun was a big help this morning."

Chifuyu nodded. "So, who made it?" she asked. Tabane smiled broadly.

"I did, of course!" she replied. Chifuyu looked at her friend, shaking her head.

"I knew it," Chifuyu exclaimed. "Why did you send this here Tabane?"

Tabane looked at Chifuyu and smiled. "I wanted to test Ickkun, and he did wonderfully," she responded, happily.

"Couldn't you just watch the video of the fight?" Chifuyu said with a sigh.

"That's boring, Chi-chan," Tabane grumbled, with a pout. "it's more fun to get the data from the Golem."

"Tabane, please don't do this again," Chifuyu pleaded, and hit Tabane on the head with her roll book.

"Whaa!" Tabane cried, as she held her head. "Chi-chan is mean."

"Stop whining," she said and headed towards the elevator. "Come on, it's almost dinner time."

Tabane followed, a grin spreading across her face. "Yay! I get to see Naru-kun again."

Chifuyu looked, puzzled, at Tabane. "Why are you interested in Naruto?" she asked.

Tabane smiled. "Naru-kun is fun," she plainly stated.

"Ok, is there anything else?" she asked. Tabane put a finger on her chin, as if in thought.

"Yeah, he makes great IS designs," Tabane added. "His designs are different, and it's fun to see what he thinks up. Also, when he is working on an IS, the look he gets is….." she stopped, blushing. Chifuyu looked at her friend eying the red on her face.

"Tabane, is there something you would like to tell me?" Chifuyu asked. Tabane shook her head. "Are you sure?" Tabane nodded quickly. Chifuyu just shook her head as they walked towards the entrance.

"So, you are staying in my room," Chifuyu stated. Tabane shook her head in disagreement.

"I already have a place to stay," she said happily.

Chifuyu looked curiously at Tabane. "So, where_ are_ you staying?" she asked.

"That is a secret Chi-chan," Tabane said and left it at that.

-sb-

Naruto walked towards the Cecilia 's IS storage area, eager to resume work on her Blue Tears. He saw her waiting outside for him, and waved. She waved back and smiled.

"So, ready to work?" he asked her. She nodded. "Great, shall we?"

She led him inside and he smiled as he looked at Blue Tears. They were able to fix all of the bits and were going to begin work on the thrusters and basic systems. Cecilia had already changed and was wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts. Naruto blushed at bit as he looked at her. The way the shirt and shorts hugged her body, was enough to make any man blush. He took off his school jacket and shirt, revealing an undershirt.

"So, let's get started on those thrusters. Next, are the flight and movement systems, then an overall check of all systems," He listed eagerly.

"That's great to hear," Cecilia responded, attentively. "Shall we get started?"

Naruto nodded and headed to the back of the IS. He took off a large blue panel on the right wing, and looked at the linkages. He waved Cecilia over, and showed her the parts that needed to be replaced. He then showed her the proper way to remove the broken parts and install the new ones. Once they finished with one wing, they moved on, to the other three. He let her take care of the other right wing while he took care of the left. They worked in silence for a while before Naruto started to hum to himself. Cecilia listened and smiled; it was a very slow tune but still happy.

Naruto stopped humming and started to say something, but Cecilia couldn't hear him. He got a little louder and soon she realized, that he was singing.

**shizukana kono yoru ni anata wo matteru no  
>ano toki wasureta hohoemi wo tori ni kite<br>are kara sukoshi dake jikan ga sugite  
>omoide ga yasashiku natta ne.<strong>

**hoshi no furu basho de  
>anata ga waratte irukoto wo<br>itsumo negatteta  
>ima tookutemo<br>mata aeru yo ne**

**itsu kara hohoemi wa konna ni hakanakute  
>hitotsu no machigaide kowarete shimau kara<br>taisetsuna mono dake wo hikari ni kaete  
>tooi sora koete yuku tsuyosade<strong>

**hoshi no furu basho e  
>omoi wo anata ni todoketai<br>itsumo soba ni iru  
>sono tsumetasa wo dakishimeru kara<br>ima toukutemo, kitto aerune**

Cecilia looks at him in wonder. His voice was beautiful, and the song was one that made anyone smile. Naruto turned and saw her looking at him.

"What?" he said, with a little confusion is his voice. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, that's not it," she said with a small blush. "It's just, when you were singing, I couldn't help but listen. You are very good."

Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Really?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Yes, you are very good," she encouraged. "Have you ever thought of performing?"

"No," he replied, quickly.

Cecilia smiled at him. "You should, I think a lot of people would like your voice."

Naruto just nodded and thought about it. "Maybe, someday," he said, turning his attention back to fixing the left wing.

"I hope you will," she said, making him smile. She turned back to her work and hesitated. "Can you check to make sure I did it right?"

Naruto walked over and inspected her work. "Very good," he said making her smile. "Keep this up, and you'll be an IS engineer in no time."

Cecilia smiled. "I wouldn't go that far."

Naruto nodded. "Ok then, since the wings are done, we can start to work on the flight and movement systems."

"Great," she said, as they moved towards the computers.

-Later on-

Naruto was walking with Cecilia back towards the dorms. They had finished fixing the flight system, and got most of the movement system overhauled. Naruto had to shake his head in frustration at all of the unnecessary code that was in her programs. He promised himself that he would later check all of her systems.

They walked in silence for awhile, while Cecilia gazed at Naruto. He was different from Ichika in many ways, but also, so similar. She wondered what his drive was, for designing and making IS.

"Hey Naruto," she started, getting his attention.

"Yeah Cecilia?" he replied.

"What made you want to make your IS?" she asked.

Naruto stopped for a moment, as he pondered the question. He smiled as he came to his answer. "I created the Freedom, to protect those who are precious to me," he replied.

Cecilia looked surprised as she listened to his answer; She was expecting something along the lines of, he was bored, or because he could. She never expected such a deep, meaningful answer. She smiled to herself; She was determined to get to know Naruto very well. Naruto was smiling when he suddenly noticed the time.

"Crap!" he thought. "I completely forgot about sparing with Maya." He turned to Cecilia and smiled weakly. "Hey, I forgot something. I'll talk to you later." Cecilia nodded and watched as he ran like a mad-man towards the practice arena.

-SB-

Maya stood there with a frown on her face. Naruto was late. He had promised that he would be there at six, but it was already six thirty. She was about to head into the IS launch area, when he came running out. She saw that he was out of breath and not ready for a match.

She flew over to him. "Are you ok?" she asked, concerned.

He breathed for a few moments then turned to Maya. "Sorry, I lost track of time," he explained.

Maya looked at him, and saw that his apology was genuine. She sighed inwardly knowing she couldn't be mad. "It's fine," she said, a little dejected, "but we cannot spar now."

Naruto nodded disappointed, when suddenly, an idea popped in his head. "How about I take you to dinner this weekend, to make up for it?" he offered.

Maya blushed. "d..din…dinner?" she stammered. "Just…t..the two of us?"

"Yeah just the two of us." he confirmed. At this point, it was pointless to hide the surprise splashed across her face.

"O…ok," she muttered.

"Great," he said with a smile, glad he could make it up to her.

-SB-

Naruto entered his room and set his stuff down. It had been a very tiring day. He headed towards the bathroom and undressed, to shower. While he was washing himself, he didn't hear his door open and Tabane walked inside. She looked around but didn't see the blonde boy.

"I wonder where Naru-kun is?" she thought as she laid down on the bed. She started to undress and was only in her bra and panties. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Naruto turned off the shower and stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist. He turned and saw Tabane laying on the bed, in her underwear. He quickly looked away, expecting to hear her scream, but no sound came. He cautiously turned around, and saw that she was fast asleep. He sighed and shook his head. He walked over and covered so she could sleep peacefully.

"Sleep well, Tabane," he whispered, and walked over to his side of the room. He pulled the divider wall out, and changed into his sleeping clothes. As he lay down, he couldn't help but smile. Tomorrow was the day of the doubles tournament, and he planned on winning. "I will fly the Freedom onto a new day" he thought as sleep soon overcame him.

-sb-

Naruto sat in the IS prep area with a big smile on his face. He was ready to fight and couldn't wait for his turn. He had spent the morning in the practice arena with Honne working on combos and feints. He was sure that they were ready for anything. The first few fights were ok, many of the students were using the school provided Uchigane. Therefore, they all had the same basic weapons so, the competition was more about who was the better pilot.

Honne watched the screen and giggled. "It's our turn soon," she noted. Naruto nodded in agreement. They were block B, and block A had just finished their matches. Ichika and Charles were in block A, while Laura was in block C.

"So, If I beat Ichika, I can probably fight Laura in the semi-finals," he thought as he listened as the announcers called for the start of block B. Naruto smiled and stood up. "That's us Honne," he yelled, eagerly.

"Let's go!" Honne shouted as they each called their IS. Naruto smiled as he felt the familiar feeling of the Freedom, taking its place over his body. He opened his eyes and his Wings popped open. Honne was in the Strike, with the Launcher Striker attached. She smiled at the blonde and turned towards the launch doors. Soon they opened, and Honne launched first, Naruto smiled.

"Naruto Namikaze, Freedom, launching!" he said and took off into the arena. He met Honne in the middle of the arena and searched for their opponents. The expected foe, soon flew out in Uchiganes, swords at their sides. The buzzer went off; signaling the start of the fight and Naruto targeted the Uchigane on the right, while Honne focused on the other. They fired, forcing the pair apart. The pilot on the right thought Naruto was going to chase after her, but watched as he fired at her friend. She didn't have time to think, before she was hit with blaster fire, from Honne.

"Damn," she said and opened a com channel with her partner. "Are you alright Yuni?"

"Fine, Riku," she assured. "Watch out!"

Riku turned and was met with blaster fire from Naruto. She dodged most of it but her shield still dropped. She turned again, only to be hit by another round of blaster fire. She watched as Honne and Naruto switched targets every few moments. She flew forward, only able to dodge.

"Seems they finally caught on," Naruto observed. "Combo pattern 2."

Honne smiled brightly. "Switching to Sword Striker!" she cried, as her weapons evolved. Naruto brought up his waist and shoulder blasters, and began to rain fire down on Yuni and Riku. They dodged as best they could, but there was too much flack. Naruto smiled, glad he had increased the rate of fire on the Freedom.

While Riku and Yuni dodged, Honne had finished changing Striker Packs, and flew to the side. Naruto watched as she flew at an angle, and launched the claw cable at Riku. It grabbed Riku's leg and launched her, high into the air. Yuni tried to provide cover, but was pinned down by Naruto. Honne smiled and pulled Riku toward her, sword in hand. Riku helplessly came in close, allowing her to be hit with Honne's sword, dropping Riku's shield to 60. Riku was thrown towards Naruto who smiled and fired all his blasters at her. Yuni watched as Riku's, shields fell to zero, leaving her alone to face the pair.

"I will win for us Riku," she pledged and charged forward, only to be grabbed by the crab cable and pulled towards Honne.

"It was a fun fight," she said to Yuni, and hit her with her sword. Naruto also dropped her shield with every hit. Soon her shields were gone, and the match ended.

"Winners, Naruto and Honne!" the annoucer proclaimed over the speakers, to the cheering crowd.

Naruto smiled and Honne jumped in the air. "We won!" she shouted as she landed.

Naruto smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, now we have one more team to beat then we face the winners of block A."

"Let's do our best," Honne said and they headed back into the IS launch area.

-in control room-

Chifuyu, Maya, and Tabane watched as Naruto entered the IS launch area. They had to admit that the tactics they used were very good. They had switched targets every few seconds to keep the enemy off guard. Even when the enemy realized the tactic, they effortly switched to another impressive approach. By using the crab cable on the Strike, they threw off their opponents sense of control and took their shield down greatly, by attacking with the sword on the Strike, while Naruto finished them off with a rain of fire.

"That was a very good battle," Maya said.

"They did well, but they still have much to learn," Chifuyu said and turned away. She didn't want them to see her smile. She was surprised at their tactics, and could tell that they were a strong pair and their movements were not wasted. She was pleased at their accomplishment, but kept it to herself. If only her idiot brother could learn like them, there might be a chance for him.

-A little while later-

"Welcome to Block B, final match," The announcer proclaimed to the impatient crowd. "We have Naruto and Honne from class one, verses, Asa and Nana from class 3."

Inside the prep area, Naruto sat down, his eyes closed. He let everything unimportant fall away and concentrated on the battle at hand. He focused on the Freedom.

"Spread you wings Freedom and show them your power," he said, inspired, and activated the Freedom. He entered the launch area. "Naruto Namikaze, Freedom, Launching!"

He flew out and stopped next to Honne. She was equipped with the Aile Striker gear. Naruto looked over at his opponents. They seemed, very confident.

"Honne, let's do our best," he called. The buzzer sounded and the fight began, Naruto opened fire on his opponents, causing them to scatter. The one named Asa, dodged to the side and charged him, while Nana got close to Honne, causing her to block with her shield. Naruto raised his shield, and kept firing. Asa kept dodging and was able to get closer. She brought her sword down, but he blocked with his shield. He fired his blaster at her and she dodged. She got in close again, and hit him in the side. He cringed as he watched his shield drop a bit, but overall, he was fine. He saw Asa continuing her attack, and dodged to the side. He then pushed his shield into her, making her fly back. He leveled all of his blasters and rained fire down on Asa. She quickly got out of the line of fire.

He looked over to Honne, and saw that she was having a tough time. She was using her beam saber to fight off Nana. She blocked with her shield and tried to push her back. Naruto saw that Asa was still a good distance away and flew directly towards Nana.

"Honne, move back and switch to Launcher Striker," he commanded. She held her position for a moment, before pushing off with her shield. Nana thought that she had the upper hand and was about to charge forward, when she was hit in the side by Naruto with his shield. She flew back, giving Honne the time to change her equipment. Naruto smiled, when he was suddenly hit in the back sending him into the ground. Asa stood over him, her blade at the ready. Naruto flipped as she tried to strike him. He fired his shoulder blasters to get some space and flew near Honne.

"Make it rain," he said. Honne smiled.

"Yeah, rain," she grinned, and leveled her large cannon. Naruto smiled and turned all his cannons into firing position.

"Activate Full-Burst Mode for a minute," he ordered, and the Freedom responded. Full-Burst Mode activated, the screen stated and he saw his power levels rise.

"All systems green, rail-gun and plasma launchers activated and ready to fire," he observed as he did a systems check. He turned towards the two charging girls and smiled.

"NOW!" he said, and Honne opened fire with a large laser blast. Asa flew up while Nana went to the side.

"I've got you now," Asa chuckled, and charged towards Honne . She charged for her next blast, only to get blindsided by a red blot hitting her IS. She watched as her shield dropped, and wondered what hit her, and turned to see all of the Freedom's blasters leveled at her. Naruto smiled. Nana was torn into, by a superfast blast as Naruto rained down powerful blasts on them. She dodged the best she could, but his rate of fire was amazing.

Naruto smiled, seeing that his plan was working. He had figured out that he could use the burst mode for only a full minute, or it would overload all of his systems. He looked at the timer, and saw that he had only about ten second left of fire.

"Ready Honne?" he asked.

"Ready, Naruto," she answered. He pushed Nana and Asa towards each other, and burst mode ended.

"NOW!" he called as Honne fired a powerful blast at the pair. Asa and Nana couldn't dodge and their shields dropped to zero.

"Winners, Naruto and Honne!" the annoucer called and everyone cheered.

Naruto sighed in relief and Honne tackled him.

"We won!" she shouted.

Naruto nodded and smiled. They had won their block and were set to face the winners of A block. As they entered the launch area, they looked towards the bracket board. Their next fight was against Ichika Orimura and Charles Dunios.

Naruto looked at the board and smiled. "This is going to be fun," he decided. He saw Ichika and gave him a nod. "Only one of us can win, and it's going to be me."

** The song is Quiet Night from Gundam Seed.**

**That is chapter five,edited by my epic sister Jessica, the first part of the double tournament. Naruto has won his bracket and so has Ichika. Now they meet in the next round and it a battle to see. I really had a hard time starting this chapter but it turned out great. I really love it when it comes together. Please review and when you do, please tell me what parts you liked, what parts I need to improve on and what parts made you feel. As for pairing only Maya is definate, Naruto has many paths and soon the ones he takes will be revealed. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto stood next to Honne, looking at the screen. He was excited for his next round and couldn't wait 'til it was their turn. He looked over at Honne and saw the smile on her face, but her eyes showed her worry.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked her. The sudden sound made her jump a bit.

She turned and looked at her partner. "I'm fine," she said, but Naruto wasn't buying it.

"No you aren't," he responded, making her look away.

"It's nothing," she repeated, but Naruto wouldn't take that answer.

He turned her around and looked her directly in the eyes. "It is _not_ nothing," he insisted, making her look at him in awe. "I am your partner. You can always tell me when something's bothering you. "

Honne nodded and let silence fill the gap between them for a few moments. "I'm just scared that we will lose," she whispered, finally. "We keep facing tougher and tougher opponents and I don't want to let you down."

Naruto gave her a warm smile that made Honne relax a bit. "You can never let me down," he assured her, making her blush. "No matter what happens, we will do our best and that is what matters."

Honne returned the smile. "Thanks," she said, relieved, and gave him a big hug, and he hugged her back.

"Now, let's go kick some ass." He said and Honne smiled.

"Yeah!" she shouted, with her typical happiness.

"Will Naruto Namikaze, and Honne Nonotoke, please head to the launch area," a voice boomed over the speakers.

Naruto smiled and started to walk towards the launch area; he stopped for a moment and turned towards Honne. "Let's go," he encouraged. She tried to hide her reddened face as she followed the blonde. They got to the launch area. Honne summoned the Strike and took off first. Naruto waited a few moments, then activated the Freedom. He floated in the air for a few moments before entering onto the catapult.

"This is Naruto Namikaze in Freedom, launching," he announced, and was thrown out of the catapult. He flew towards Honne and hovered next to his partner. They were the first ones out of the launch area and waited on their opponents. Soon they saw an orange flash coming towards them and saw Charles in his IS. He was flying in a Raphael Revive Custom. Naruto knew that it had better armor and weapons then the mass production model. Next Ichika flew out in his IS Byakushiki. Its main weapon was a sword, but Naruto knew that there was more to it then it seemed.

"We need to take out Ichika first," Naruto decided. Honne just gave him an odd look.

"Why Ichika?" she asked. "I thought we were going to go after Charles, then Ichika because he has less experience."

Naruto turned towards Honne and gave her a serious look. "I know the capabilities of Charles's machine from all the information that is available on it," he explained. "As for Ichika's IS, it is a new model with little information published on it. So, it's best to take out the uncertain variable first, before we target the known one."

Honne nodded as she finally understood. "Ok, let's do it," she agreed, as they turned to face their opponents.

Ichika watched Naruto and Honne with uncertainty in his eyes. He could tell that this was going to be a tough battle. He and Charles had watched all of their last fight and had to admit they were a great team. They always seemed to be in harmony with their movements and could change strategies on they fly. The one thing he _did_ notice was that Naruto was the one who made the changes. The plan became, take Naruto out first, and Honne would follow.

Charles looked over at Ichika and smiled, knowingly. "Ready?" he asked and Ichika nodded. The start buzzer sounded and the battle began. Ichika watched as Naruto leveled his blaster and started to rain down lasers at them. He dodged to the side and summoned Yukihira to his hand. He activated ignition boost and charged towards his blonde opponent, only to be blindsided by laser fire. He turned and saw Honne, wearing some sort of green armor, firing a large blaster at him. He dodged the next blast as Honne charged, only to be intercepted by Charles. He had two machine guns in hand and was firing at Honne, pushing her back. He charged forward, Yukihira in hand, ready to strike, only to dodge fire coming from Naruto. He watched as Naruto attached his shield to his forearm and fired two beam rifles at him. He dodged to the side and tried to get close, but Naruto wouldn't let him get away.

"Damn," Ichika thought, and flew higher into the air. Naruto watched this, and followed him. He tracked Ichika as best he could, but he always seemed to miss his target. He was getting frustrated and looked over towards Honne. She had just dodged a burst of bullets and was returning fire, as soon as she was able to get her bearings. Naruto turned and saw Ichika, charging towards him, his sword out ready to strike. Naruto looked at him and frowned, flew back and leveled all of his blasters at Ichika.

"Dodge this," Naruto taunted and fired. Ichika eyes went wide as he was met with a wall of beams. He tried to dodge but was hit in the leg, damaging his outer armor and causing him to drop his shields. Naruto smiled and started to press his attack, when he was met with a hail of bullets. He dodged to his left and saw Charles in front of Ichika, his battle with Honne forgotten. He looked at Naruto and started to fire. Naruto dodged to the side and pulled out his shield, letting it take the rest of the attack. He watched as Honne made Charles and Ichika separate. Naruto took this time to fly over to her and see how she was doing. He checked her shields and saw that she was just above 400. He also noted that many of her weapons were damaged and she needed to change striker packs right away.

"Get behind me," he ordered. Naruto watched as Charles and Ichika charged him from different sides and let out a small gasp. "Switch to the Sword Striker as soon as I start firing," Naruto commanded, opening fire. Ichika dodged to the side, but Charles kept up his charge. He had summoned his riot shield and charged towards Naruto as fast as he could. He reached Naruto and charged into him, sending him flying back. He tumbled across the ground and slammed into a wall, his shield taking a huge hit, falling from 550 to 360. He turned and dodged a blast from Charles's shotgun and returned fire. Naruto spun around another blast of the shotgun and drew his beam saber. He blocked Charles's next shot with his shield and swung his saber at his left side. Charles felt the bite of the saber and was sent to the side a few feet, his shields dropping to 200. He turned and saw Naruto flying towards him. He got up and dodged to the right, as Naruto brought the saber down on his head. He spun and kicked Naruto, sending him flying back. Naruto got up and looked at Charles, only to see a smile on his face.

"Naruto!" Honne cried. He turned to see her having a tough time with Ichika. Their swords were locked and it was a battle of dominance that she was losing. He looked at Charles and watched him charge forward. Naruto blocked his attack, leveled one of his waist blasters, and fired it into Charles's chest at point blank range. Everyone watched as Charles was launched across the field and landed in a heap of orange, his shields falling to 80. Naruto took this time to charge forward and push Ichika away from Honne. He checked and saw that her shields had dropped to 25 and she knew she couldn't take another hit.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "You did great," he said, "but I need you to fall back and switch back to long range."

"Ok," she responded, and flew toward the other side of the field. Naruto watched her go but didn't have time to make sure she was ok. He dodged a strike and spun around to face Ichika and Charles. Charles held a large sniper rifle in his hand and Ichika had his sword ready. "This is going to suck," Naruto thought to himself, leveling his shield and beam rifle. Charles fired his rifle and Naruto blocked it with his shield, only to be met with Ichika in front of him. Naruto barely managed to spin away from his attack and shot him in the back. Ichika flew forward a bit and Naruto began to rain fire onto him. Ichika dodged the attack and turned to see Naruto blocking fire from Charles. Naruto held his shield out, fired back at Charles, watched as he got a direct hit on his shoulder, dropping his shield to 15. Naruto was about to finish the attack but was blindside by Ichika. He flew across the ground, a determined looked slowly spread across his face. He turned and watched as Charles leveled his rifle at him.

"Oh crap," Naruto thought, as Charles fired at him. He knew he couldn't dodge and waited for the blast to hit but nothing came. He watched as Honne flew in front of him and took the blast, but had enough time to hit Charles as well, dropping both of their shields to zero. He looked at Honne who gave him a big smile.

"Kick his butt," she said and Naruto smiled.

"You got it," he said, turning toward Ichika. "Let's go wild."

Naruto charged, beam saber in hand, the sound of sabers clashing filled the air. Everyone watched as the pair was locked in a battle of blades. The broke apart and Naruto rushed Ichika. Naruto brought his saber towards Ichika right side. All Ichika could do was dodge. He tried to counter but Naruto stopped his overhead strike with his shield and stabbed at him. Ichika was hit and watched his shields drop to 190.

"Damn, I can only use Yukihira's ability two more times," he thought as he dodged Naruto's next barrage of attacks. He looked at Naruto, and knew he had to beat him to get the opportunity to fight Laura. He flew back and looked at Naruto.

"Let's end this," he said and Naruto smiled.

"Yes, let's" he agreed and the pair charged. The attack seemed to be over in the blink of an eye. Both combatants didn't move for a few moments, when suddently the sound of hissing filled the air. The Freedom was down on one knee, shields at zero.

"Winners: Ichika Orimura and Charles Dunois," The announcer called and everyone cheered. Naruto landed on the ground as the Freedom went into standby mode. He knew his attack had connected but he still lost. When Ichika hit him, his shield just dropped all the way to zero. He knew he had a lot of shield left at least 300 but that one attack made it all go away. He turned and looked at the Byakushiki.

"That is one interesting machine," He thought as he headed towards the launch area. He entered their waiting area and saw Honne standing by the bench. She saw him and he could see tears welling up in her eyes. She rushed him and tackled him to the ground tears streaming down her face. He held her as she cried. He couldn't help but feel sad at the loss. They had made it so far and had lost it in the end. Soon tears started to stream down his face and the two partners cried in each other arms.

-In Control Room-

Maya watched as Naruto exited the field with a frown on her face. She couldn't help but feel for the young man. He had tried his best and had made it to the quarterfinals, only to lose. She turned and saw Chifuyu watching some of the recording, a look of serious concentration on her face. Maya looked at her fellow teacher and wondered what she was thinking.

Chifuyu seemed to notice this and said, "Naruto and Honne would have won if not for Yukihira."

"Really?" Maya asked.

"Yes," Chifuyu said, "They had better team work and control over their machines. They made a few errors that could have been avoided but overall they would have won." She rewound the recording to the part where Honne was fighting Ichika in the sword striker. "This part could have gone better if Honne was fighting Charles and Naruto fought Ichika. Ichika is a close range fighter by nature and Honne couldn't keep up. She was lucky not to be hit with any direct attacks but Ichika still dropped her shields dangerously low. If Naruto was fighting him he would have had a tougher time due to the fact Naruto is decent at any range." Maya nodded in understanding and watched as Chifuyu moved to the last attack of the fight. "If Ichika didn't have Yukihira, he would have lost. Naruto's shields at this point were at 300 while Ichika's were at 190. Naruto scored a direct hit at his side making Ichika shields drop to 60. If Ichika had a regular sword he would only drop Naruto shields to 250 because he scored a hit on his shoulder. All Naruto needed to do was fire his rifles and he would have won, if that were the case." Chifuyu got up and walked towards the main window. "But that wasn't the case and he lost to my idiot of a brother, but at least this will show Ichika that hard work does pay off."

Maya couldn't help but smile as Chifuyu acted like a big sister for a moment. She turned back to the screen and watched as Houki and Laura won their fight and the next match was them versus Ichika and Charles. She turned to the computer console and watched as the screens prepared for the next fight. She wished she was able to leave and go check on Naruto but her job came first, no matter how much it hurt.

-In Stands-

Cecilia had a small frown on her face. She had watched the fight between Ichika and Naruto with much confliction. She wanted both of them to win but she didn't want either of them to lose well. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on within her. At first she hated Ichika, then she had grown to care for him after he had shown her what he was capable of. She cared for him, but then Naruto came along. He was entirely different from Ichika, in some ways, but he had the similar fire inside of him. She remembers his hands as they guided hers in repairing Blue Tears. As she got to know the blonde and why he did what he did. She couldn't deny that he was taking the place of Ichika. She had spent more time with Ichika but he didn't seem to catch on with her feelings. Naruto on the other hand, listened to her and helped her. He even showed her how to do something she would have usually left to her research team. She saw that the next fight was starting and she got up. Rin was sitting next to her and wondered what was up.

"Hey Cecilia, where you headed?" she asked.

Cecilia turned stopped and turned. "Just to check on a friend," she said and headed out of the stands. She headed into the locker room area and saw that it was deserted. She walked deeper into the stadium and arrived at Naruto's IS standby area. She saw that the door was closed and was a bit nervous to open it. She stood outside the door, frozen, wondering what she should do. What if he wanted to be left alone? What if he wasn't even there? She continued to debate with herself, when the door opened and Naruto walked out. He saw Cecilia standing there staring off into space.

"Hey," he said, getting her attention.

Cecilia flushed a bit. "Hello Naruto," she quietly greeted and gave him a hesitant smile.

He gave her a small smile in return. "What brings you down here?" he asked and she began to be flustered.

"We-well I came to see how you were doing," she responded, looking away. "It was a tough loss and I wanted to make sure you were ok."

Naruto gave her a sad smile and sat down with his back to the wall. He sighed and looked towards the ceiling. "I'm doing fine," he said as he stared into space. "It just sucks to lose." Cecilia sat down next to him and listened to the silence settle between them.

"It's funny," he finally said, making her look at him in confusion. "No matter how many times I look at it, I can't see how he beat me. I mean, I got the direct hit while he only got my shoulder. I should have had him."

Cecilia looked at him and could see the frustration on his face. She looked away from him for a moment. "It was the off-one ability of his sword," Cecilia replied, getting Naruto's attention. "It is called the barrier void attack. It basically destroys a shield with a single hit. That is why you lost."

"I see," Naruto replied with a look of enlightenment.

They sat there in silence and Cecilia leaned her head against his shoulder. They both blushed a bit at the movement but stayed in silence. They just enjoyed the closeness they now shared. Suddenly the emergency alarm sounded and the Stadium went into lock down. Naruto and Cecilia both stood up and rushed into the IS standby area to watch the screen. Honne saw the pair rush in and wondered why Cecilia was there. She didn't have the time to dwell on the thought, when Naruto asked what had happened.

"Something happened with Laura's IS," she explained, addressing the pair before her. "Charles was hitting her with his shield penetrator and she went berserk."

They watched the screen and how Ichika finally ended Laura rampage. Naruto shook his head and walked towards the door. The girls looked at him as he walked out the door and wondered where he was headed.

-Next Day-

Naruto sat at his desk watching the craziness going on. He started his morning the same as usually with a sleeping Tabane in the bed next to him. He started to wonder if she was ever going to leave, not that he wanted her to. She was a fun person to be around, and not bad on the eyes either. He quickly changed into his school uniform and headed to breakfast where he was greeted by Honne and Cecilia. He was surprised that Cecilia had joined him that morning, as she usually ate with Ichika.

When he asked why she was eating with him she just gave him a smile and said, "Just needed a change of scenery." Naruto just nodded and had a very enjoyable breakfast. Now he was in class watching as they got a new "old" student. It seemed that Charles was actually Charlotte.

"This explains so much," Naruto said as he watched Charlotte take her seat. What happened next was something that made him fall on the floor laughing. Laura had just claimed Ichika as her bride and he watched as Houki, Rin, and Charlotte call for his death. Most of the class was split between watching the group chasing after Ichika or Naruto rolling on the floor trying to catch his breath from all the laughing.

-Later on in the day-

Naruto walked the hallways towards the Student Council Room. He received a message stating that there was a meeting and his presence was required due to the fact the he was the Vice-President.

He entered the Council room only to be tackled to the ground by Honne. She sat on his chest and gave him a big smile.

"Hi Naruto!" she said happily.

Naruto smiled and tried not to blush as he got a good eyeful of Honne's panties. "Hi Honne," he stammered. "Can you please get off?"

Honne nodded stood up. Naruto smiled and got up. He saw that Tatenashi as there as well as Honne's sister Utsuho. He took the seat marked Vice- President and sat down. He observed Honne and Utsuho take their seats and wondered why Tatenashi was still standing. He got his answer when she straddled his lap and gave him a big smile.

"I missed you Naruto." She said and pushed herself against the blonde. Naruto blushed heavily and trying not to get excited.

"Sorry Taten," he said, his face completely covered by an unnatural shade of crimson."I was busy getting ready for the tournament."

"I know," she whined and gave him a sultry smile, "But I was lonely."

Naruto was about to apologize again when she put a finger against his mouth silencing him. "I'll let you make it up to me by taking me to dinner," she decided and the blonde nodded automatically. She smiled and hugged him tightly. She quickly ended the hug and spun around. "Ok let start the meeting."

Naruto was still flustered with Tatenashi still in his lap. "Hey Taten," he said, getting her to look back at him. "Are you going to take your seat?"

She gave him another sultry look that made his heart race. "I am in my seat," she whispered into his ear. Soon smoke could be seen coming out of his ears and Tatenashi couldn't help but giggle.

-The Weekend-

Maya waited by the train station. She wore a black dress that showed off her curves beautifully. Naruto had found her during the week and they set up their dinner date. She was so excited and spent most of the day getting ready. When she left her room she was stopped by Chifuyu.

She looked over Maya and wondered where she was headed, all dolled up. "Maya," she said with questioning look. "Where you off to?"

Maya smiled sweetly. "Just out," she replied and left before Chifuyu could find out more. So, there she was waiting on Naruto.

"Hello beautiful,"a voice said from behind her. She turned to see Naruto standing there. He was wearing a suit with a thin orange tie. She could help but blush, he looked so handsome.

"H-hello Naruto," she said stumbling through her words.

Naruto smiled and blushed. _'She's so beautiful,_'he thought, as he looked over the Goddess before him. "So, you ready to go?" he asked and Maya nodded. They boarded the train and headed into town. They stood in silence for the ride, not knowing what to talk about. This continued until they were seated at the restaurant. They were seated at a gourmet French restaurant in the middle of town. It was one of the most exclusive restaurants around and they had been shown to a table without any waiting. Now, the period of silence had continued to the table.

Maya looked at her date and wondered what was going on in his mind. They hadn't said a word since they left the school and she was getting nervous.

She was about to say something when Naruto looked at her and gave her a smile causing her to stop in her tracks. "So how are you?" he asked.

"I am good," she replied and gave him a smile. "Just bit nervous."

Naruto nodded and gave her an understanding look, "same here." He said and they both started to laugh. This caught the attention of some of the people near them but they soon returned to their meals. Soon their laughter died down and they settled into light conversation. Their food quickly arrived and they ate, still talking between bites.

Maya looked at Naruto, who was currently eating some cooked salmon. "So, Naruto," she said getting his attention. "What was it like for you growing up?"

Naruto stopped eating for a moment and was silent. He seemed to stare off into space for a moment. He turned his attention back to Maya, a tender smile spread across his face. "It was an experience," he began. "Unlike most kids, I didn't go out to play or go to school. I grew up around IS. As you know, my parents started and own Konoha Industries. We were a successful programming company until the introduction on the IS. So, we switched to IS development. Instead of toys, I got to learn how to program and build IS parts and frames. Actually, my mom told me she tried to give me regular toys but I always seemed to push them away and pick up tools. It was a lot of fun." He face grew sad, "until the day we were attacked."

Maya remembered seeing the report of the news. It was over eight years since the attack but it seemed to still have an effect on Naruto. "What happened?" she asked.

Naruto looked away and waved over the waiter. "Can I get the check please," he asked. Maya was about to say something when the waiter returned. Naruto quickly paid for the meal and offered Maya his hand. He gave her a sad smile and a look that told her to wait for his answer. She took his hand and he led her from the restaurant into the busy streets. They walked in silence, side by side, hand in hand until they reached a cliff overlooking the ocean. Naruto and Maya stood by the railing overlooking the water.

"My dad and I were working on a new blaster for the prototype we were building," he explained. "A sudden explosion rocked the complex and dad went to check it out. I was still eight years old at the time so I really didn't pay attention to what was going on. Dad came running in and picked me up. I started to freak out and saw an IS fly in behind him. He threw me into the vault and closed the door. I watched through the camera as my dad fought off the attacker only to get shot by her partner."

Maya looked at him with sadness in her eyes; She had never dreamed that he had gone through an experience like that. She wrapped herself around him and held him tightly. Naruto wrapped his arms around her, thankful for the comfort. The soon broke apart and stared into each other eyes. Naruto couldn't help but thinking she was beautiful. He leaned in for a kiss and she leaned in as well. Soon their lips were locked and Maya wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck. The moon cast its light on the pair making every other light seem dull.

They broke the kiss and separated; Naruto looked at Maya and couldn't help but blush. "Wow," was all he could say as he looked at woman before him. Maya was the same; she couldn't help but stare in silence at Naruto. The blushing pair soon joined hands once again and headed back to the school.

-The next day-

Naruto was in his IS storage area working on the Freedom. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of the date he went on the other night. After he had left Maya he couldn't help but wish they could have spent more time together, but he quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He had just entered his room, when he saw Tabane sitting on her bed, her computer floating in front of her. She looked up and smiled.

"Naru-kun!" she shouted as she tackled him to the ground.

Naruto looked up at Tabane and gave her a small smile, hiding the fact her tackle hurt. "Hey, Tabane," he sqeaked.

"Hi Naru-kun," she said with a big smile. "I missed you."

He smiled, "I wasn't gone for that long," he reminded her. She gave him a pout made her look cute.

"But, I wanted to spend time with Naru-kun," she pouted sweetly.

Naruto tried to fight it but in the end he fell to the beauty that is Tabane. "How about I make it up to you?" he sighed. She gave him a big nod and an eager grin. "Ok then, we will do anything you want."

Tabane gave him a sultry smile that sent shivers up his spine. "Ok then, I'll let you know when I am ready," she grinned. Naruto just nodded as she leaned in close to him, their noises touching. "Night Naru-kun," she said standing. Naruto just laid there, slowly counting back from one hundred.

"I am in trouble," Naruto thought as he stared at the ceiling.

As he looked back on the previous night, he failed to notice Chifuyu enter the room. She saw him standing over the Freedom not doing anything, and wondered what he was thinking. "Naruto," she called.

At the sound of his name he turned to see who it was, only for him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, hard. "Ow," Naruto groaned, when he noticed someone at his side. He was surprised to see Chifuyu kneeling over him.

"Are you all right?" she asked worried. He just nodded, but she didn't want to take any chances. She helped him sit up and gave him a worried look. "Let's get you to the nurse's office," she said but Naruto resisted.

"I'm fine," he stated, rising to his feet.

Chifuyu gave him a stern look that made him freeze into place. "You fell onto concrete and might have hit your head. You are going to the nurse's office and that is final," she demanded and Naruto just nodded in agreement. They headed toward the nurses office and Chifuyu watched over the blonde as the nurse checked him out.

The nurse turned to Chifuyu. "Apart from some bumps and bruises, he's fine," she assured her. "He doesn't have a concussion."

"Thank you," Chifuyu said and looked over to Naruto who sat on one of the beds. He had an annoyed look on his face. She walked over to him. "Let's go," she said. They headed out of the nurse's office and walked around the campus. Naruto noticed that they were headed toward the train station and wondered what Chifuyu wanted from him. They arrived at the platform and waited for the train to arrive. As they stood in silence, Naruto began to wonder what was going on.

"I need your help with something," Chifuyu explained, making Naruto wonder if she could read his mind.

"OK… what do you need my help with?" he asked, but she didn't answer.

As she boarded the train, Naruto followed her and unexpectedly, Tabane appeared out of nowhere.

"Hi Naru-kun, Chif-chan," she said with a smile. Chifuyu looked at her friend and shook her head.

"I brought him," she said giving Tabane a stern look, "but does he really need to be here?"

Tabane gave Chifuyu a stern look, "of course," she demanded. "It is essential for him to be here."

Naruto watched as they talked and got lost in the conversation. "Um, why am I here?" he asked but again received no answer. They pulled into the station and exited the train.

"Let's go Naru-kun," Tabane shouted grabbing Naruto's hand, and raced out of the train.

** That is chapter six my friends,edit by my sister jessica. I am sorry I haven't updated any of my stories in awhile just had a little bit of writers block. This was a hard chapter to write but I am glad it got done. I think some of my best work comes when I push myself to write. Anyway I hope you all enjoy the chapter and review it please. As with all my notes I would love in depth reviews on the chapter and the story as a whole so I can make it better. As always REVIEW PLEASE!**


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto tried to stand as Tabane dragged him down the street to the mall. Ever since they had departed from the train, Naruto had had a feeling of dread. He felt Tabane come to a stop. Only then was he finally able to get off the ground. He frowned when he saw where they were. They had stopped in front of a large department store.

"Oh no," Naruto thought, as Tabane dragged him inside. Chifuyu followed the pair; she wondered why Tabane wanted Naruto to join them on this trip. She had planned on going shopping later but Tabane had spent most of the morning convincing her that they should go shopping that day. She saw Tabane turn into the bathing suit section of the store and sighed.

"This is not going to end well," she thought to herself, as she followed the pair.

Naruto looked around and saw many different, colorful, and revealing outfits all around him. He turned and saw a smile on Tabane face that sent shivers down his spine. "Why do I feel I'm going to enjoy and hate this at the same time?" he thought to himself, as Tabane started to browse the racks.

She pulled one off the rack and showed it to Naruto. It was a two-piece suit that left nothing to the imagination; it was the same color as Tabane's hair. "What do you think of this one?" she asked, and Naruto just shrugged.

"It's nice," he offered, and Tabane nodded before putting it on her arm. She proceeded to ask the same question about three different suits. One was a one piece; It was silver and was very low cut, showing all the way to her belly button. Next was a striped two-piece which was blue and white. The bottom was a very low cut. Finally, there was another two-piece that tied together at the front of the top. It was a very sexy red. She finished picking the swimming suits she wanted and headed toward the changing room.

Tabane gave him a sultry smile making Naruto blush. "I only be a minute," she said and closed the curtain behind her. Naruto just stood frozen at the spot, only for Chifuyu to tap him on the shoulder, making him jump.

She chuckled at his reaction, and walked into the dressing room next to Tabane. "No peeking," she ordered, giving him a death glare. Naruto just nodded, not wanting to die. He watched as the curtain closed and he let out another sigh.

Naruto stood next to the wall and wondered what he was going to do. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to all that had happened in the past few months, and couldn't help but smile. He never had been this happy in a long time. He saw all the people he had met, and the bonds he had made. Soon a few people came to the front of his mind. First was Maya, he couldn't help but smile even bigger as he thought of the green-haired, assistant teacher. She was truly one-of-a-kind. She was timid but strong at the same time. Next Tatenashi appeared and he couldn't help but sigh and then smile. She was different. She was sultry one moment and cute the next. She always knew the ways to make him blush. Next was Tabane, she was fun to be around. She was one of the few people he could really talk to about IS development, without it going over their heads. She was childish at times yet so sultry the next.

"At least their never a dull moment when she around," he said to himself, with a light chuckle. Next Honne appeared in all her perkiness. He couldn't help but be happy when she was around. She was always so optimistic about everything, it was infectious. She could always brighten a room.

"Truly one of a kind," he said, as he glanced towards the ceiling. Soon Cecilia took her place on the stage that was his mind and the smile once again returned. Even though he had known her the least, she had become precious to him. When she first asked him to help fix her IS, he was surprised. She was usually with Ichika and his group of girls. He was a bit cautious of her at first but she turned out to be a fun and caring person. When she came and checked on him after his fight with Ichika, he couldn't help express a grin. She could have gone to Ichika and congratulated him on his win, but she came to comfort him instead. She managed to capture a spot in his heart without him even realizing it.

"Then there is her," Naruto said, as he thought of Chifuyu. She was the one that confused him the most. When they first met, he wanted to punch her in the face. That soon changed as he got to know her, and saw that she was actually a very nice person once you got past her hard exterior. He remembered when she showed him the underground research area. He laughed to himself as he remembered her blush. She was someone he wanted to get to know better. As he continued to think about the girls, he failed to notice Cecilia walking toward him.

She had noticed him in the store and wondered what he was doing in the women's section. She was searching for the perfect swimming suit to grab his attention. She smiled to herself as her feelings for the blonde were brought to the forefront of her mind. She was more sure than ever, that he was the one for her. So, when she saw him standing near the changing rooms, she wondered why he was there. She walked over to him and could see he was deep in thought, "Naruto," she said making him jump.

Naruto turned and saw Cecilia standing there and the color drained from his face. "Hey Cecilia," he said, trying to gain his composure.

Cecilia gave Naruto a questioning look. "Naruto, why are you here in the ladies' swimming suit section?

Naruto opened and closed his mouth several times trying to think of what to say, when a curtain flew open. Tabane stepped out in the silver, low cut, one piece, smiling.

"How do I look Naru-kun?" she asked. Naruto just stared. Cecilia looked on in anger, and wondered who the hussy was, who was trying to get her man. Naruto, on the other hand, was trying not to get a nose bleed at the sight of Tabane. She was stunning in the bathing suit, and the way it drew his eyes towards certain areas of her form, wasn't helping the matter either. He kept his eyes on her face not waiting to look lower in case he passed out.

"i..it loo..looks great," he stammered. Tabane smiled. She pulled him into her cleavage and squeezed him hard. "Glad you like it," she whispered into his ear. She let him go and gave him a sly smile. "I will try on the next one, I won't be long,"she said, and stepped back into the changing room. Cecilia was fuming, sharp, piercing daggers flew from her eyes, toward Tabane. Naruto felt a chill down his spine and turned to face Cecilia.

Cecilia gave him a very sweet smile that made him take a step back out of fear. "Who was that?" she asked with a bit of venom in her voice.

"That is Tabane," he said. "She's a friend."

"Tabane." Cecilia pondered. She knew the name from somewhere, when suddenly it came to her. "As in Tabane Shinonono?" she asked, and Naruto nodded. She looked at the blonde with shock. "He knows Tabane Shinonono!"

Cecilia was deep in thought as she sized up her competition. She was the creator of the IS and one of the leading designers as well. She had designed Ichika's IS and now she was here with Naruto. "I will defeat her," she thought to herself. Naruto on the other hand was a bit confused. After she found out who Tabane was, Cecilia had be unusually quiet. This unnerved him quite a bit.

"Are you ok?" he asked, pulling Cecilia out of her thoughts.

Cecilia returned to reality and gave him a smile. "I am fine," she said, as a fiendish plan formed in her head. "I am just fine, can you help me?" she asked. He nodded. "Great," she exclaimed as she ran, pulling a swimming suit of the rack, before entering a changing room. "Be out in a flash."

Naruto nodded and let out a sigh. "If this keeps up, I might be taken out on a stretcher," he said as a curtain opened, revealing Chifuyu. She stepped out in a two-piece, black swimming suit, that hugged her curves well. Naruto looked at her with his mouth open. She was stunning. It fit her perfectly. As he stared at the goddess before him, he failed to notice the blush on her face.

Chifuyu was surprised by the blonde's reaction to the way she looked, resulting in her reddened face. It soon left her face as quickly as it came. She faced the changing room before turning her head to look at the blonde. "Close your mouth or you will catch flies," she said and stepped back into the changing room. She planned to buy the suit as soon as she changed. Naruto was brought out of his stupor by her words and shook his head. He turned around and started to count back from one hundred.

"This is getting a little too hot to handle," he said to himself as he tried to calm down.

"Oh, Naruto," he heard Cecilia call. He turned to see her in a blue two-piece suit. He was once again speechless. She was stunning in the suit. It flattered her form nicely. Cecilia smiled as she watched his reaction. "Should I buy this one?" she asked. He simply nodded dumbly. She grinned and entered the changing room, happy with the reaction she had gotten from the blonde.

Naruto came to his sense one again, and turned, only to see Tabane step out in the red two-piece. As he looked at her, his brain overloaded from everything and he fell to the ground. She watched him fall and smiled. "I guess this is the one," she said, and re-entered the changing room.

-A few days later-

Naruto sat at his laptop, his eyes closed in frustration. He had installed the Dargoon System onto the Freedom, and was now running tests to make sure it worked. Unfortunately, the Dragoon system was not activating at all. It seemed that the linkage between the bits and the IS was not connected as they should, and he had no way to fix it. He looked over the designs and wondered what went wrong, but couldn't seem to find it. "DAMN IT!" he shouted, rising out of his chair. He walked over to the Freedom and stared intently at it. "Why won't it work!" he shouted.

Kyuubi watched her master and walked over to him before touching his leg to get his attention. He looked down at the fox. She looked up at him with a reassuring look. He smiled as she looked up at him. "Thanks Kyu," he said with a smile, "what would I do without you?" She smiled as he picked her up. "Let's get out of here."

They headed out of the IS storage area, back toward the dorms. It was a glorious evening, that made him happy. The way the sun cast its last light on the ground as he walked, the sound of the waves as they moved, he had to admit this was a nice place. He continued to walk when he saw Maya out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards her and smiled.

"Maya," he called. She turned, her face brightening at the sight of his face.

Naruto," she said with a huge smile on her face. "How are you?"

He smiled back at her. "I am doing great," he said as he looked into her eyes. "Just tired."

"Well maybe I can help with that," Maya said and grabbed his hand. She pulled him towards the train and soon they were headed into town. Naruto watched as Maya directed him towards a small shop, a little bit off the train. It was a karaoke room. She gave him a huge smile. "Come on," she said, leading him inside. "Sit," she ordered.

"What is she up to?" he thought, as she chose a song. She looked over at him, a sly grin spreading across her face. Ever since their date the previous weekend, she seemed to want to spend more time with him. Unfortunately, she had been too busy to get together with the blonde. So when she saw him walking towards her, she decided to make time. Now she was desperately thinking of a song to sing, but nothing was coming to mind. Naruto saw that she was getting a bit flustered and grinned.

He got up and came up behind her, pressing himself against her. This made her squeak in surprise. "Let me go first," he suggested. She nodded quickly, in agreement. He looked over the list and tried to find a song he liked. He finally found one, and saw that it was a duet. He smiled to himself and turned towards Maya. "I am going to need a bit of help with this one."

Unforgetable

Nate and Natale King Cole

Unforgettable  
>That's what you are,<br>Unforgettable  
>Tho' near or far.<p>

Like a song of love that clings to me,  
>How the thought of you does things to me.<br>Never before  
>Has someone been more...<p>

Unforgettable  
>In every way,<br>And forever more  
>That's how you'll stay.<p>

That's why, darling, it's incredible  
>That someone so unforgettable<br>Thinks that I am  
>Unforgettable, too.<p>

[interlude]

As the interlude played, Naruto spun Maya around the room. Maya blushed and Naruto pulled her close as the song lyrics once again appeared on the screen.

Unforgettable  
>In every way,<br>And forever more  
>That's how you'll stay.<p>

Naruto sat down and drew Maya close to him, making her settle on his lap. She smiled and looked him in the eyes, her feelings shining through.

That's why, darling, it's incredible  
>That someone so unforgettable<br>Thinks that I am  
>Unforgettable, too.<p>

The music soon faded away, but the pair didn't notice because as the last line was sung they were soon joined at the lips, their passion shining through.

Out in the hallway, one of the attendents wondered why she couldn't hear any music. She walked towards the room and peeked. Her face turning red, she headed back to the main desk as quickly as she could. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't get the picture of, Naruto and Maya making out, out of her mind.

-Week later-

Naruto smiled as he looked out at the sea. "It's a nice day," he said as he walked onto the beach. He was wearing a pair of black-on-orange, swimming trucks, and no shirt. He smiled as he looked out at the water. He turned and saw the rest of the class running towards the beach. He watched and tried not to pass out from all the beautiful forms in front of him. He turned back to the water and sighed. Suddenly he felt a pair of soft pillows against his back.

"Hi Naru-kun," Tabane said as she wrapped he arms around his neck. "I am so happy to be at the beach with you."

"S..same here," Naruto stammered, trying not to fall down. Tabane smiled and pressed herself against him more. Naruto began to turn as red as a tomato, while the rest of the class looked on. Cecilia and Maya were fuming as they watched Tabane, holding Naruto in her arms, and planned to get him away from her.

Chifuyu watched the scene and sighed. She walked over and bashed Tabane on the head. "Stop," she ordered, as Tabane held her head, crying anime tears.

"Chi-chan is mean," Tabane whined. "I just wanted to spend time with Naru-kun."

"You don't have to hang on him," she said, and turned toward the water.

"If this keeps up, I'm not going to survive the trip," Naruto said to himself, as he laid on the sand. Suddenly a shadow was cast over him. He opened his eyes and saw Cecilia standing over him.

"Hi Naruto," she said sweetly.

Naruto looked at her and smiled back. "Hi Cecilia what can I do for you?" he asked.

She held up a bottle of suntan lotion. "Can you help me put this on?" she asked.

Naruto looked at her with surprise. "You want me to do what?" he asked.

She smiled and lay down next to him. "Can you please put this on my back?" she said again, and untied the straps of her top. Naruto stared at her bare back, his body frozen in place. His mind was complete blank. "Come on," she said, making him come out of his stupor.

"Sure," Naruto responded, and squirted some of the lotion into his hand. He stared at her bare back and slowly started to rub his hands together. He spread the lotion around and started to rub it into her back. Cecilia let out a small moan when Naruto's lotion-covered hand touched her back.

"Cold," she thought, but Naruto's brain was frozen from hearing the moan. Cecilia wondered why he stopped and turned her head. "It's ok," she said to him. "Please continue."Naruto nodded, and once again rubbed the lotion onto her back. Cecilia released another moan as he moved his hands over her form. Her body began to get hot. She started to breath heavily as he continued. He blushed as he ran his hands all over her back and was almost done.

He rubbed the last of the lotion into her back and lifted his hand from her back. This made Cecilia whine in disappointment, not wanting it to stop. She turned and looked at him. "Can you get my legs and my bottom?" she asked. Naruto stared at her in complete shock. He was frozen for a moment before nodding. He poured the lotion into his hand, and rubbed it in a bit, before starting on her lower legs. As his hands moved up her legs Cecilia couldn't stifle a moan of plesure. Naruto shivered when he heard this had to stop when he reached her inner thigh. Cecilia wondered why he stopped, when she felt his hand move against her left thigh. She shivered as his hands traveled around her leg, and couldn't help but moan loudly. Suddenly, she was surrounded by a bunch of girls who were jealous of what was going on.

"Hey, I want Naruto to rub lotion on me too," one cried, and tried to pull Naruto away.

Cecilia got up and gave the girls a stern look. "Leave us alone," she said. Everyone suddenly became quiet. She then noticed the soft breeze against her chest, and remembered she was topless. Naruto was beet red, and quickly turned his head away. Cecilia looked at him with shock before slapping him. "Pervert!" she shouted.

Naruto fell back and stared at the sky, in a daze. Cecilia looked at him with a huge blush on her face and let out a sigh. "Damn, it was just getting good," she told herself as she finished tying her top. While this was going on, Honne and her friends grabbed Naruto, and dragged him towards the water.

"Ok, girls on three," Honne said. They picked him up by his arms and legs and started to swing him. "One," Honne said as he started to swing higher, "Two, and THREEE!" They let go of him and he went sailing into the water. Naruto was instantly brought out of his daze, and sat up.

"Who, what, when," he said as he stood up, only to see Honne and her friends laughing. He gave them a stern look. "Did you throw me into the water?" he asked, but they couldn't answer because they had yet to stop laughing. He looked at them ,and an evil smile appeared on his face. He ran over and picked up Honne.

Honne was laughing when suddenly she was lifted into the air. She was startled and turned to see Naruto holding her in his arms. He gave her a big grin before running towards the water. Honne figured out what was going on in his mind, but it was already too late. Naruto had jumped as high as he could. They sailed through the air before hitting the water, Honne screaming all the way. They both came up for air and Honne gave Naruto a smile.

"Let's do that again!" she shouted, much to his surprise, but he quickly nodded and they headed out of the water. Everyone watched, as Naruto again picked up Honne, and jumped in the water with her in his arms.

"I want to try," someone shouted as Naruto got out of the water. He saw most of the class standing around him.

"Who's next?" he said, with a smile on his face, before he was tackled by the horde of girls. He struggled to get free so he could get them organized, but he was stuck. "Well, this is a good way to go," he said as he felt their bodies press into his. "That feels nice."

"Get off him," a voice screamed, grabbing everyone's attention. They all turned and saw Cecilia standing over them. "This is improper for girls our age. Unhand him this instant."

Everyone slowly got off the blonde, except for Honne, who somehow managed to end up in his arms again. Naruto smiled at Cecilia and looked down at Honne. Cecilia looked at the two of them, her body surrounded in a black aura. "Honne, will you please remove yourself from his arms," she said, a little too sweetly. Honne shook her head no.

"He promised me another ride," Honne whined and looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at Honne, then to Cecilia.

"I am so dead," he thought, as he watched Cecilia's aura get even darker.

"How about he gives you a ride after me?" Honne said and Cecilia looked at her strangely.

Naruto watched her, and noticed a smile appear on her face. "That is fair," she decided, making the other girls facepalm.

"That hypocritical," one girl complained, but Cecilia gave her a cold look.

"No it is not," she simply stated. "I said it was improper to pile on a boy like you were doing, not to ride in his arms."

That seemed to quiet everyone else, and Naruto just sighed to himself. He smiled at Honne and looked around. He saw a cliff not too far off and smiled. "Come on," he said to the pair and headed off towards the cliff, Honne still in his arms. Everyone watched as he traversed the beach with Honne. Most of the girls were green with envy. He reached the cliff and smiled. "Hold on tight," he said and broke into a sprint. Everyone watched in awe as Naruto jumped of the cliff, Honne still in his grasp. They sailed through the air for a few moments, before hitting the water. They soon surfaced, Naruto wearing a huge smile on his face. Honne smiled back as they headed back to shore. Naruto soon arrived at the top of the cliff and found Cecilia waiting for him.

"It my turn now," she said eagerly. Naruto slowly lifted her into his arms. She smiled and leaned her head against his chest, making his heart begin to race.

"Ready?" he asked. Cecilia shook her head.

"Can't we stay like this for a moment?" she asked. Naruto just nodded. She smiled to herself. She had got what she wanted, to be held in his strong arms and never to leave. He looked down at her and saw the peace on her face. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I'm ready," she said. He backed up a bit, and started in a light run. Soon he gained speed, and held Cecilia even closer. They reached the edge of the cliff, and Naruto jumped off with all his might. Everyone watched, as they soared through the air. Cecilia was screaming at the top of her lungs, in terror. Naruto gave her arm a squeeze, telling her he would protect her. That didn't stop her from screaming, but it did comfort her. They soon hit the water with a loud splash. They soon surfaced and Naruto flashed a smile. Cecilia smiled back and couldn't wait to continue spending time with the blond. They got back to the beach, when Naruto was grabbed by Honne and dragged towards the volleyball area.

"Let's play," she said.

He took one side, with Honne and Cecilia on his team. Their opponents were Charlotte, Laura and Ichika. Naruto smiled as Honne served the ball, sending it straight towards Charlotte. She set it up for Laura who jumped and spiked it towards Naruto. He saw the ball coming, and was able to stop the spike and get the ball up into the air. Cecilia saw this, charged forward, and set the ball up high in the air. Naruto jumped as high as he could and spiked the ball towards the ground. Ichika dived for it but missed. Naruto smiled as they got the point. Soon the game was going once again, and the ball was in the air. The other girls gathered around and watched the match as it progressed. So far Naruto's team was winning by two points but Ichika's team wasn't giving up. It was the game point.

It was Naruto's turn to serve. He looked over at the opposing team and flashed them a smile. "Here we go," he said, tossed the ball into the air, jumped up, and hit it over the net, toward Laura. She was able to get the ball in the air, and set it for Charlotte, who sent it towards Honne. Honne was able to get her hands under it but she couldn't get the ball high enough to get it over the net. Naruto dove and hit the ball as hard as he could. Cecilia, seeing this, ran and jumped, getting a good spike on the ball, only for Ichika to set it up for Charlotte, who sent it back over.

"Damn," Naruto muttered, as he watched the ball sail over to their side. Cecilia waved, signaling that she had it, and set it for Naruto. He smiled and spiked the ball as hard as he could. Everyone watched in anticipation, as the ball sailed down to the ground scoring another point.

"YES!" Cecilia cried, tackling the blonde. Soon Honne joined her. Naruto blushed as the two girls hugged him tightly.

"Let see if you can do it again," A new voice said. The trio turned to see Chifuyu, Maya, and Tabane standing there. Naruto stared at the three and tried not to faint from shock. They all looked stunning in their swimming suits. Maya wore a yellow two-piece that showed off her body well, while Chifuyu and Tabane wore the ones that they had picked with him.

Cecilia saw the three women standing there and gave them a look. "Of course we can, and we will win," she said and Honne nodded in agreement.

Naruto stood up and gave them a smile. "Bring it," he said, and the game was on.

-Later that evening-

After the beach, everyone had retired to the inn to relax and prepare for the upcoming lesson the next day. Naruto sighed in exhaustion, as he sat in the male side of the hot springs. Ichika had already left, leaving him all alone. He suddenly heard the door open and saw Tabane walk out with a towel wrapped around her body. Naruto saw this and quickly turned, his face became a cherry red at the sight of the red head.

"Why is she on this side of the bath?" he thought as he turned away from her.

She smiled, as she saw Naruto with his back facing her. "Aww, he's so sweet,"she thought to herself as she entered the water. She walked over towards the blonde and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against his back. Naruto body stiffened, and Tabane grinned.

"Hello Na-ru-to," she quietly whispered into his ear.

"Hi Ta..Tabane." he said, as he tried to control himself. "Why are you on this side of the bath?"

"I wanted to spend time with you Naru-kun," she whispered into his ear, leaning against him even more.

Naruto began to lose his mind, but he managed to gain control once again, but yet unable to form complete sentences.

Tabane smiled and took advantage of the silence. "So Naruto, I was wondering would you wash my back," she said, sending a shiver down his spine. "I really have a hard time doing it myself, so your help would be much appericated."

Naruto just sat there not moving, his mind trying to keep in control of his body. His mind was losing the fight. He was about to turn around, when the door opened and Chifuyu stepped inside. She wore a bathing suit and gave Tabane a stern look.

"Tabane, what did I tell you?" she said, with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Hi Chi-chan," she replied. "I was just getting Naru-kun to help me wash my back."

Chifuyu entered the water and pulled Tabane off the blonde. "You are in so much trouble," she said, making Tabane give her a forced smile. She turned and saw Naruto, still frozen, and pushed him into the water.

Naruto was instantly up, "Wha..what?" he said, and looked around, but Chifuyu had already left with Tabane.

-LATER-

Naruto smiled as he entered his room. Dinner was good and he had spent most of his time with Cecilia and Honne, laughing and talking. He smiled as he remembered both of their smiles.

"I am a really lucky guy," he said to himself as he closed the door behind him. He looked around the room and saw it was one of the suites. He saw Ichika's bag on one side of the room but also another one next to it. "I wonder who else is rooming with us."

This question was soon answered when the door opened behind him and he turned to see Chifuyu standing there. Naruto just stared at her in shock. "What the hell is she doing here?" he thought as he looked at the brunette.

"Why are you staring?" she asked him with a hint on annoyance in her voice.

Naruto snapped out of his daze and shook his head. "Are you rooming with us?" he asked and she nodded. "Why?" he blurted.

"I am here to make sure that you and Ichika stay in this room while we are on this trip," she said. "I don't want to find you asleep in another room, or you will wish you never came to this school."

Naruto nodded and sighed. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. "I won't leave the room Orimura-sensei," Naruto said. "I rather just spend my night with you."

Chifuyu blushed at this, making Naruto smile. The blush quickly left her face and she gave him a stern glare. "If you try anything, they will have to take you home in a box," she said with a deadly smile.

Naruto smiled back, not scared one bit. "Then I will die a happy death," he replied making her frown. He smiled and put away his stuff for the night. Ichika came in and could see the tension in the room.

"Hi," he said, but no one acknowledge his presence. He walked over to his things when Chifuyu waved him over and ordered him to give her a massage. He sighed and started to do as she asked. Apparently, he started in the wrong spot and she gave him a disappointed look. "Not that hard," she complained. He was about to start again, when Naruto grabbed his wrist.

"I'll do it," he said quietly. Ichika just nodded, not wanting to incur Chifuyu's wrath. Naruto smiled and moved his hand to her shoulders and slowly started to rub them. Chifuyu let out a sigh of approval.

"That's it," she said, a small moan escaping her lips. Naruto slowly and skillfully moved his hand up and down her back, giving Chifuyu the best massage she had had in years. He reached a tense spot and slowly started to release the tension. "RIgght there" she said, the pleasure oozing in her voice. Suddenly the sound of the door breaking filled the air, and Chifuyu turned to see Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Maya, and Honne fall through the door.

Naruto stared at the group and smiled. "So what brings you to our humble abode," he said, surprising Chifuyu at the site of Naruto leaning over her.

Before she could say anything, she watched as all the girls were relieved about something. She got up and looked at them. "What's going on?" she asked. Everyone started to talk at once but she held up her hands and everyone fell silent.

"Ichika, go get us some drinks," Chifuyu ordered. He rushed out of the room and Chifuyu turned to look at Naruto. "Are you up to giving more massages?"

Naruto smiled. "I would love too," he said with a huge smile on his face. He spread out his futon and looked over towards the group. "So who is first?" he asked.

** This is chapter six, EDITED. Thank you to Jessica. It was a fun write, I am always a big fan of just fun chapters and it is always a fun to write. Next chapter is the start of the Silver Gospel Arc and we will see how Naruto will help with this. Also Chifuyu will finally started to get to know the blonde. Please as always tell me what you think of the chapter and the story overall. What parts of the chapter you like the most and what parts needed to be improved. Also tell me If you like where this story is headed. As always REVIEW PLEASE!1**


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto was slowing waking up the next morning, when he felt an unfamiliar weight laying on top of him. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw red. He closed his eyes again and reopened them. Again, red filled his vision. He saw the red move and Tabane's face appear. He sighed to himself as he laid his head down on his pillow.

"How did she end up there?" he thought as he tried to move, but she held him in place. "Might as well enjoy it," he thought as he felt her assets press against his body. "No, bad Naruto, no acting like ero-sennin."

Suddenly the door opened. Chifuyu walked in, grabbed the sleeping Tabane, and dragged her out of the room. She turned towards Naruto who pretended to be sleeping. "I know you're awake," she said and Naruto sat up. "Go get ready, we have training in few hours."

"Yes Orimura-sensai," Naruto said, with a mock salute, only to receive a pillow to the face. He sighed as he got up and started to get ready for the day.

-With Chifuyu and Tabane-

Chifuyu dragged her friend to her room, and threw her on the bed. Tabane hadn't noticed and was still asleep. "Wake up!" Chifuyu said with conviction. Tabane's eyes slowly opened and she looked around.

"Where's Naru-kun?" she asked as she sat up. She turned and saw Chifuyu. "Chi-chan where's Naru-kun, he was my pillow. Did you take Naru-kun for your pillow? Whahaha Chi-chan mean."

Suddenly Tabane felt the binding of a role book connect with the top of her head. Chifuyu gave her a stern look but a hint of a blush still adorned her face. "You are supposed to be finishing Houki's machine," Chifuyu said.

"But Chi-chan," Tabane whined. "I want to sleep with Naru-kun!"

"You need to finish your work," Chifuyu replied.

Tabane looked at her friend. "But, I am done," she said, getting a surprised look from Chifuyu. "I finished after everyone went to bed. Well, since I am done, I am going to go back to Naru-kun."

Chifuyu grabbed Tabane by the back of her shirt and held her tightly. "Oh, no you don't," she said as Tabane struggled to get free. "He has to get ready, and you have to be ready to present the Akatsubaki to Houki."

Tabane hung her head and nodded. She walked out of the room with a sad look on her face, but when she saw Naruto walk out of the bathroom, she got an idea. "I'll just give Naru-kun a goodbye present before I go," she thought. She headed toward the blonde, only to feel an intense, evil glare, directed towards her. She slowly turned her head, and saw Chifuyu watching her. She pouted and headed out of the room. Chifuyu watched her go and turned towards the blonde.

"This is going to be a long day," she thought, and left to get ready for the day.

-Later on-

Naruto stood next to Ichika as he and the others waited for Chifuyu to start the lesson. He just sighed as he looked around, noticing that everyone there had a personal IS except one person, Houki. She was the odd girl out. He wondered why she was there but his musing was cut short when Chifuyu addressed them.

"This lesson will take place shortly," she announced. "Houki, your machine has arrived."

Everyone turned to look at Houki who nodded and slowly walked forward. Suddenly, a large red blur came out of nowhere and tried to attack Houki, but Chifuyu hit it with her role book. Everyone watched in surprise as Tabane got up off the floor.

"Chi-chan is mean." She said with large cartoonish tears coming down her face. Everyone watched the scene with mixed expressions, Naruto just sighed. "Typical Tabane," he thought as he watched Chifuyu yell at her friend. Soon everyone watched as Houki was set up in her machine, Akatsubaki. It was a solid red hue with four diamond-shaped wings on its back. The legs and gauntlets were of a slim design, allowing for maximum range of motion. Naruto looked over the design and whistled, it was truly a thing of beauty. He looked at all the angles and the thruster placement. He was very impressed by the machine.

Houki was excited as she looked over all of the specs and gave Tabane a smile. She was soon off and flying high in the sky. Everyone watched in awe at her speed and wondered what it was capable of, if she pushed it to its limits. Naruto noted that it was most likely a close-combat machine and couldn't wait to see it in battle. While this was going on, Chifuyu got a call from the school and her face darkened.

"Signal for Houki to come in," she ordered, and Ichika radioed for her to come down. Chifuyu faced the class. "The lesson is over. Please head back to the inn; We have a situation that needs to be looked at." Everyone nodded, but Naruto couldn't help but worry as he saw the look of dread on Chifuyu's face.

-With the girls-

It had been a few hours since Chifuyu had dismissed them from their lesson and they wondered what was going on. Cecilia was worried but she didn't let it get in the way of her main focus, making Naruto hers. She looked at the other girls and wondered if they could help with this.

"Hey," she said, getting everyone attention. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"What is it?" Rin asked curiously.

Cecilia was quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say. Charlotte could see she was having trouble. "It's ok," she said. "Just take your time."

Cecilia gave her a smile of thanks. "Well, it's like this," she started, and everyone listened. "There this guy I like..." however, she was suddenly interrupted by Rin.

"Does this guy happen to be, Ichika?" Rin asked, giving her a stern look. "If that's the case then I'm not saying anything!"

Soon everyone was arguing over Ichika, and Cecilia was getting annoyed. "IT'S NOT ICHIKA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

All of the girls looked at Cecilia with shock. She wasn't after Ichika, like the rest of them. "So, who is it?" Houki asked already having an idea as to who it was.

Cecilia was quiet for a moment. "It's Naruto," she finally said meekly.

"WHAT!" they all shouted, shaking the building. Cecilia covered her ears just in time and waited 'til everything was quiet. She removed her hands from her ears and looked at everyone.

"Yes, it is Naruto," she whispered

Laura looked at her with confusion. "Why are you after Naruto?" she asked. "You were originally after Ichika, as we are."Charlotte, Houki, and Rin gave Laura evil glares which she brushed off. "You know it's true."

Cecilia waited for them to stop arguing before she began. "I don't know when it happened but Naruto just seemed to sneak up on me. It started when I asked him to help me repair Blue Tear." She paused for a moment, a small smile gracing her face. "He made me help."

"He made _you_ help?" Rin said with shock. "But, you don't know the first thing about IS maintenance."

"That is true," Cecilia said with a laugh. "When we first started, I didn't even know how to use a screwdriver right. Yet, he was patient with me and always helpful. He always smiled and never ignored me when I talked to him."

"Ichika does that too," Charlotte said, the others nodding in agreement.

Cecilia just looked at her friends. They didn't seem to understand. "It's not just that," she said, as she tried to find the right words to explain. "With Ichika, I felt as though I had met a man who proved to me he can be strong, but Naruto, he just is. He's always there when I need him and he confides in me, like when I went to see him after his fight with Ichika and Charlotte. He let me into his heart and told me how he felt about his loss. He treats me like I'm special, even when there are people around. He can, without even trying, make me feel like I'm the most important person."

Houki gave Cecilia a look of understanding. "So, what's the problem?" Rin asked.

"Well, I am not the only one after him," Cecilia sighed in annoyance.

"Who else is after him?" Laura asked. "Maybe we can have them, "removed" from the equation."

No one answered the silver haired girl, due to the fact they were still in shock about her suggestion. "We will file that idea for later," Charlotte said with a smile. Everyone else tried not to think of what she had planned.

After a few moments of silence, Cecilia spoke. "So far, all I know is that Tabane is after him."

"Tabane" Houki said with a bit of shock in her voice. "As in… my sister… Tabane?" Cecilia nodded. Houki just stared at her as if she was crazy. "That's not possible."

"Trust me it is," Cecilia said. "I met her when I saw Naruto shopping with her for swimming suits."

"She was on campus?" Houki said, with more anger in her voice.

"That what it seems," Cecilia said, wondering if it was better to have left Tabane out of the conversation.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" Houki said quickly, and headed out of the room. Everyone watched as she left the room praying for, whomever was in her path, to get out alive.

-With Naruto-

Naruto was in the portable IS research lab, working on one of his projects. It was an attachment for the Freedom to add extra weapons and fire power. He called it the meteor and hoped to get it up and running soon. He was almost done with the thrusters and couldn't help but smile. It was using the prototype of the GN drive. He had finally gotten it working, by accident.

-Flashback-

He was working on the compression method, when Tabane jumped him. He was no longer paying attention to the algorithm, causing the experiment to spin the particles in all directions finally compressing into a tight ball. He smiled as he watched it glow blue and couldn't help but shout out in happiness.

"I DID IT!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, and pulled Tabane into a hug. This made the girl blush but Naruto didn't care. He had finally gotten the compression right. Now he was able to put the new engines to work, as the power source for the meteors.

-End of Flashback-

He was attaching the last rocket launcher to the unit, when he heard the door open. He turned and saw Tabane standing there with a smile on her face.

"Hi Naru-kun." She said, "What you doing?"

He grinned as he finished installing the rocket launcher. "Just finishing the meteor," he explained. "It's finally done."

Tabane looked over the attachment and couldn't help but marvel at its design. It was a very easy mount and dismount system allowing for easy deployment. It was equipped with two energy cannons, twin beam blades, and a four rocket launchers. The most interesting part of the machine was its engines. They ran off compressed particles, and she couldn't wait to see them in action.

"So what's the plan now?" she asked him. He just sighed as he sat down in a chair by the desk.

"Well I need to test the GN Drives to see if they work like they are supposed to," he said, glancing toward the meteor. "I will do more testing and then I'm going to install them into the Freedom."

Tabane nodded and looked at the Freedom, which was in its charging area on the other side of the lab. "Are you sure it can handle the power. The output of the GN drives is a lot more then what the Freedom is currently equipped with."

Naruto nodded and gave her a concerned look. "That's what worries me." He looked at the Freedom with affection in his eyes. "The Freedom is a great machine but I don't know if the specs will hold. I designed it so it could take a lot of power but I really don't know if it will."

Tabane walked over and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know it will," she said with confidence. "Freedom has the same dreams as you, and it will grow with you, so just trust in the Freedom and nothing will go wrong."

Naruto smiled, "thanks Tabane," he said and they both shared a laugh. Suddenly a brown blur flew by and Tabane was swept away. Naruto watched in shock as they disappeared.

"What was that?" Naruto said to himself as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened.

-With Houki and Tabane-

Houki stopped in an empty room and closed the door. She faced her sister with a serious look on her face. "Tabane, have you been here all this time?" she asked, while Tabane looked back at her, confused.

"What do you mean, Houki-chan?"

Houki was quiet for a moment. "Have you been here at IS Academy for the last few months?" she asked.

"Of course I have Houki-chan," Tabane said with a smile.

"Why are you here?" Houki asked, the anger evidence in her voice.

"I wanted to visit Naru-kun," Tabane said with a smile.

Houki looked at her and thought, "Naru-kun?" she questioned. "You mean Naruto? Why?"

Tabane looked at Houki and smiled. "Naru-kun is fun," she replied. "He's smart and funny. He makes me laugh."

Houki looked at her sister and shook her head. "How did you meet Naruto?" she asked.

"Well, I contacted him when he first came to school," Tabane said with a smile. "I saw his designs and wanted to get to know him."

"So you came to see his designs," Houki concluded, but Tabane shook her head no.

"That not it at all," she stated, as Houki gave her a confused look. "I wanted to get to know Naru-kun. He is different."

Houki was about to ask what Tabane meant, when her phone went off. She picked it up and saw that there was a meeting in the debriefing room. She turned and saw that Tabane was gone. Houki sighed to herself, in annoyance and headed towards the debriefing room.

-In debriefing room-

Chifuyu looked around at the gathered students and gave them a serious look. "Today the United States and Israel lost control of their new prototype, IS Silver Gospel. It is now resting about three miles away from here." The tactical map appeared on the floor in front of them. "Currently you are the only ones available to deal with this problem."

"So what is the plan?" Charlotte asked, as she looked at the map.

"It is currently traveling toward an island, at Mach 3, that is not too far away from here. " Chifuyu said. "This operation is going to use Ichika's IS, to take out the rogue IS with one strike."

Ichika raised his hand and looked at his sister. "But Byakushiki is not fast enough to catch up with it, not even in Ignition Boost."

"I know how you can do it," a voice whispered and Tabane came down from the ceiling. "Akatsubaki can go that fast with its fold out armor. So, Houki-chan can fly Ich-kun there."

Chifuyu nodded and looked at Houk. "Can you do it?"

"Yes ma'am," she said with a smile. "Ichika and I will be able to complete this mission."

Naruto watched as this went on but couldn't shake the feeling as if something bad was going to happen. "Is the area secure?" he asked and Chifuyu looked at him. She saw the worry on his face.

"We have cleared the area within a ten mile radius," Chifuyu said, but this didn't seem to satisfy his worry.

"Can't we send a back up team?" he asked. "If they fail we have to plan another attack. Wouldn't having backup be handy?"

"That is correct," Chifuyu stated, "but we don't have any other units that can go that fast."

Naruto was about to mention the meteor when he was cut off by Houki. "Ichika and I can take care of it," she said with confidence.

Naruto looked at her and shook his head. "Fine," he said, getting up. Everyone watched as he left and wondered what was going on in his mind. Chifuyu watched him go and turned towards Ichika and Houki.

"The mission will commence in two hours, dismissed." Everyone left the room. Chifuyu turned and looked at Maya who had a look of worry on her face. Maya wanted to ask if she could talk to Naruto but remained silent.

"I will be stepping out for a moment," Chifuyu said to Maya. "Monitor the situation and immediately report any changes."

Maya nodded and watched as Chifuyu leave the room. Chifuyu sighed and looked around. She saw Naruto standing outside in the courtyard, staring at the sky.

"This is going to end badly," Naruto sighed, as she approached.

Chifuyu looked at him. "What makes you say that?" she asked him.

Naruto stared off into space. "Just a feeling," he said. "I feel as if my heart is being squeezed and my legs are shaking. I can't really put it into words."

Chifuyu gave him a reassuring look. "Everything will be fine," she said and he nodded.

He gave her a small smile. "I hope you're right," he said sadly and walked away.

-A few hours later-

Ichika and Houki were flying towards the rogue IS. Ichika hung on to Houki for dear life as they neared the target. They both knew that they had one shot at this and if they failed, something bad was going to happen. Soon they saw the enemy come into view.

Houki looked back at Ichika and gave him a confident smile. "Let's do this," she cried and Ichika nodded. She turned her IS at a sharp angle, coming up directly behind the rogue IS. Ichika readied his Yukihira and was about to strike, when the enemy IS turned, and fired upon the pair. They broke off their attack and watched the enemy IS, as it began to rain down fire on them.

"This is not going to end well," Ichika exclaimed, dodging enemy fire.

-In mission room-

Everyone sat at the table, listening and watching the battle as it took place. So far Ichika and Houki were holding their own against the Silver Gospel, but the battle could go either way. Naruto watched and out of the corner of his eye he noticed a shipping vessel sailing below, while the fight contnued high above.

"What the hell is that ship doing there!" he shouted,drawing everyone's attention to the ship.

Chifuyu looked at Maya and got on the radio. "I thought we had cleared the area of all ships," she shouted into the radio. She was silent for a moment, while she listened for a reply, before she continued. "Then why is there a ship in the middle of the battlefield."

"Chifuyu!" Maya said drawing her attention. On the screen was Ichika, guarding the ship from attack. Everyone watched as Houki yelled at Ichika to move and to leave them to their fate. Ichika told Houki that if she had power she should protect people causing the girl to freeze. Soon everyone watched as Ichika came to her rescue when the Silver Gospel attacked her. They watched him fall and Houki catch him before he hit the water. Everyone was silent, all in shock of what had just happened. Naruto quietly got up and left the room. This thing had hurt his friends and he was going to make it pay.

Naruto waited 'til Ichika and Houki got back and made sure that Ichika was ok. He slowly disappeared from the group and headed towards his IS lab.

"That damn thing is going down," Naruto thought, as he reached his destination, only to find his way blocked by Chifuyu and Maya.

"I expected you here sooner," Chifuyu said looking at the blonde.

"Move," Naruto said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"No," Chifuyu replied.

"Then I will make you move," Naruto said, as he slowly made a fist.

Chifuyu gave him a stern look, "I'd like to see you try." Naruto need no other invitations and attacked. He charged forward and threw a straight jab toward Chifuyu's stomach. She blocked the attack and countered with a punch of her own. Naruto blocked this, but was pushed back.

"Damn, she hits hard," Naruto thought, as he watched Chifuyu charge him. She lashed out with a hard kick towards Naruto's left side. He saw this and spun around the kick. He used the momentum of the spin to try and hit her with a left hook, only for her to redirect the attack and throw him off balance. She took advantage of this and, grabbing him by the shoulder, flipped him onto the ground. Naruto tried to get up but Chifuyu puts a foot on his chest.

"That enough!" she ordered while the blonde looked up at her with anger. "You are confined to your quarters."

"Why?" Naruto asked as he got up.

"So you can't do anything stupid," she said, dragging him to his room.

"I'm not going to do something stupid!" Naruto grumbled as she dragged him along.

Chifuyu shook her head. "Yes you were," she snapped back. "You were going to take your IS and go fight the Silver Gospel on your own, without a plan or backup."

"I would have figured it out," Naruto said.

Chifuyu stopped and gave him a stern look. "That would have gotten you hurt or worse, killed," she said, making him flinch. "I am responsible for your safety and I can't lose another pilot." Naruto fell silent and soon they arrived at his room. She walked him in and called Maya over.

"Make sure he doesn't leave," she ordered, and left the room.

Naruto sat with his back against the wall not saying anything. Maya looked at him and could see the anger and sadness in his eyes. She walked over and sat down by him. She put a hand on his shoulder as he turned to face her.

"I hate this," he finally said, as he looked at the wall.

"It's not that bad," Maya replied. "You're just stuck in this room."

Naruto looked at her. "That's not what I hate," he whispered and looked at her. "I hate feeling helpless. I have this power yet there is nothing I can do."

Maya looked at him and pulled him into a hug. "You're not helpless," she said as she held him. "I know it seems as if there is nothing you can do, but it will be ok."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Maya and snuggled into her neck. "Thank you," he whispered and she smiled.

-hours later-

"They did what!" Chifuyu shouted at the top of her lungs as she watched the reports. It seemed that all the girls had left and went to fight the rogue IS. Chifuyu shook her head. She had stopped Naruto from going but the others had left instead. She banged her fist against the console and headed out of the room. She knew that without Naruto's help, they didn't stand a real chance of beating the Silver Gospel.

She opened the door to Naruto room only to see Maya straddling the blonde. They both turned at the same time and broke apart quickly, blushes on each of their faces. She shook her head, and mentally planned to talk to them later about what was going on. "Naruto, I need you to suit up," she ordered. Naruto stared at her in confusion.

"What happened?" he asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

"Well, while I was dealing with you, the others had the same bright idea and went after the IS," Chifuyu explained. Naruto face darkened. "I'm sending you out to help. They can't do this on their own."

"I will try my best Orimura –sensei," Naruto responded and rushed out of his room, toward his IS lab. He rushed in and looked toward the Freedom.

"Awaken Freedom," he commanded and was soon surrounded by light, the Freedom covering his body. "Hatch open, align for Meteor attachment."

He slowly backed into the Meteor and watched as the systems linked. He smiled when he saw all systems green and he started the engines. The GN Drives hummed to life and soon the compression was at a steady rate and he slowly lifted off. "Systems all green," he noted and slowly left his IS lab area.

"Naruto," Chifuyu said through the radio. "Do your best and make sure you all come back."

"Will do," he replied and looked out to the sea. "Let's see what this can do." He shot off and soon a sonic boom was heard. Naruto was surprised by this, noting that he wasn't even going at full speed, and accelerated faster. Soon, he was past Mach 3. "I'm on my way."

-With the girls-

Cecilia watched as the Silver Gospel fended off her friends. They had been attacking it for awhile and still hadn't been able to beat it. She watched as Laura stood on a nearby cliff and fired her particle cannon, hoping to hit the enemy but she missed. Houki charged in to try and hit it with her swords but couldn't get close enough, while it rained down defensive fire. Rin and Charlotte fired from different angles but still they were unable to land a decent hit. Cecilia looked at it with anger and released her bits. They flew towards the Rogue IS and fired at all angles. The enemy IS dodged all the blasts and turned its attention towards Cecilia. Cecilia, seeing this, called back her bits and barely dodged to the side as the enemy attack sailed past her. She aimed her laser rifle and fired, only for the IS to dodge and charge her. She dodged to the side and kicked the IS away. Laura, seeing this, fired a shot at the IS, getting a direct hit. Rin and Charlotte fired at the IS and scored hit after hit. Cecilia turned and fired all of her weapons at it and soon an explosion was heard. The Silver Gospel fell out of the sky and plummeted toward the earth.

"We did it!" Rin shouted. Suddenly a shockwave of power was felt and everyone turned to see the Silver Gospel had stopped its decent and angel wings had appeared on it back.

"Se..second shift," Charlotte said as they watched as the enemy IS suddenly disappear from view.

Everyone looked around, tense. "Where is it?" Rin said, only for it to appear next to her and knock her out of the sky.

"Rin," Charlotte called, but couldn't do anything as the IS appeared and attacked her. She was able to dodge the attack and fire her shotgun at the IS. The enemy dodged the attack and rained laser grenades at Charlotte. She dodged to the best of her abilities, but was soon hit and sent flying. Laura fired her cannon, hoping to hit the IS but her attacks were dodged each time. She followed it to the best of her abilities but was soon hit by a rain of laser grenades. Cecilia and Houki watched as their friends fell, leaving them to face the enemy.

"This thing is a monster, "Cecilia thought, and leveled her blaster rifle and began to fire. The Silver Gospel dodged the blast with ease but Cecilia wasn't done yet. She released her bits and had them add to her rain of fire. The Silver Gospel dodged the attacks and countered with its laser grenades. Cecilia knew she couldn't dodge and watched the grenades fly toward her. Suddenly Houki was in front of her, deflecting grenade after grenade.

"Keep firing," she ordered to Cecilia. "I'll protect you."

"Thanks Houki," she said and continued her attack. She was able to graze the Silver Gospel but that didn't seem to phase it at all. It looked at the pair and then began to fire a barrage of laser grenades. Houki stood ready and started to deflect them, when another wave was sent. Houki tried her best to deflect the attacks but there were too many, and she too, soon fell. Cecilia had flown out of the line of fire and saw that she was the last one standing. She started to fire her rifle at the Silver Gospel but her attacks were dodged. She dodged to the side as the Silver Gospel fired it laser grenades. She turned and saw the enemy right in front of her. She was hit in the leg and then the stomach. Cecilia flew back and floated for a bit. Her shield had dropped to below a hundred and she knew she couldn't take another hit like that. Unfortunately her bits had been destroyed and her rifle was nearly out of power. She watched as a barrage of laser grenades rain down toward her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to her friends and waited for the attacks to hit her, when suddenly a large beam took out the grenades. She turned and saw Naruto flying towards her. He was hooked up to some kind of weapons pack and traveling very fast.

He stopped in front of her and looked her over. "Are you ok?"

Cecilia looked at the blonde, happy to see him. "I'm fine," she said, "but everyone else…"

Naruto nodded. "take care of them," he said and then turned towards the Silver Gospel. "I'll deal with this."

"But," Cecilia began, but Naruto held up his hand.

"I can take care of this," he said with a serious look. "Those who hurt my precious people will be destroyed by my hands."

Cecilia looked at the blonde and nodded. "You'd better," she stated as she tried to hide the tears starting to flow.

"I always keep my promises," he said and turned to face the Silver Gospel. "Now it's my turn you piece of crap." He lifted one of his large cannons and fired. The Rogue IS dodged to the side and then sent a barrage of laser grenades at him. Naruto smiled and fired his cannons. The two attacks canceled each other out but Naruto had already charged. He turned the cannon into a large beam sword and brought it down onto the Silver Gospel. It dodged to the side and charged the blonde, only to be met by a faceful of missiles. Naruto watched as it backed off and flew back a safe distance. He locked all of his weapons on it and fired. The Silver Gospel dodged and counter-attacked with it's laser grenades. Naruto spun away from the barrage and fired his cannons, hitting the Silver Gospel in the back.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed and charged forward. Activating his large beam sword, he brought the blade down on the Rogue IS. Suddenly the enemy rolled away from the attack and sends laser grenades at him, at near point blank range. The attack hit Naruto and pushed him back, his shields dropped from 600 to 490 and the Meteor received some damage.

"Damn," he said as he went through a systems check. "Meteor armor damaged but still usable. Lost missile launchers 2 and 4. Engines still operational." He watched as the Silver Gospel flew high into the air and began to rain laser grenades on him. Naruto pushed the GN drives to maximum and shot away from the attacks. He watched as the Silver Gospel tried to follow him but he was moving too fast. He activated his beam sabers and charged. The Silver Gospel couldn't dodge his first attack and soon Naruto was using his speed to land multiple hits on the Silver Gospel.

While this was going on, Cecilia had gotten everyone together and they watched as Naruto attacked the Silver Gospel over and over. They were surprised by his speed and quickness but were happy he was able to fight it.

"He can win," Cecilia thought as she watched Naruto land another hit.

Naruto turned and flew towards the Silver Gospel at full speed. "DIE!" he shouted, when a red alert filled his screen. He came to a halt as his systems began to flash red. "What's going on?" he thought and saw that the meteor was unable to cope with power the GN Drives produced, and it had shut down all systems in both the meteor and Freedom. He turned and watched as the Silver Gospel looked at him. He quickly tried to restart his systems but to no avail. The Silver Gospel began to spin and soon laser grenades filled the sky. He was hit and an explosion was heard. Everyone watched in horror as he fell out of the sky parts flying everywhere.

Cecilia watched in horror. "NARUTO!" she shouted as tears streamed down her face.

** That is chapter 8, this is the chapter I was looking forward to writing and I hope you all enjoy it. This was easier to write after I finally got through chapter seven and I think my muse is on fire. Will Naruto survive the fall? Will he save everyone? What else will happen? Please tell me what you think of this chapter and what parts I could do better. I hope everyone who reads this will review and tell me what you think. As always PLEASE REVIEW!**

**This is the edited chapter. As always Thanks to Jessica**


	9. Chapter 9

"Naruto!" Maya shouted, as she watched the blonde fall on the screen. He had been about to take out the Silver Gospel when his IS had a total system failure. She could only watch as he was hit by hundreds of laser grenades. She screamed as she watched him fall.

Chifuyu watched her assistant and stayed silent. She too, was worried for the blonde, as he had taken a lot of damage. His system failure was unexpected and they had no way of restarting his system from their side. She turned away from the screen and saw Tabane looking at him. Tears had started to stream down the red-head's face. Chifuyu walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Tabane turned and started to cry into Chifuyu's chest.

-With Cecilia and the girls-

Cecilia watched as Naruto fell. He hit the water and started to sink. "NARUTO!" she shouted, and shot toward him, only to be stopped by the Silver Gospel. "DAMN YOU!" Cecilia lined up her blaster and fired. The Silver Gospel held up its hand and a shield blocked the attack. Cecilia didn't let up and continued to fire at the Silver Gospel. Cecilia flew around and fired her blaster as fast as she could. The Silver Gospel dodged most of the attacks with ease.

"I'm going to destroy you!" she shouted as she fired, tears streaming down her face. She charged toward her target and pushed the barrel of her cannon into its chest and fired. The Silver Gospel flew back and Cecilia continued her attack. She brought her rifle up and began to rain fire down on it. The Silver Gospel had recovered from the attack, dodged her laser blast, returning fire with its laser grenades. Cecilia dodged to the side but a few grenades hit her leg. She lost a bit of her thrust and tried to correct it, only to be hit by another barrage of laser grenades. She flew back and hit the ground hard. She tried to get up, when she saw the Silver Gospel speeding down toward her. Closing her eyes she waited for the end, but nothing came. She slowly opened her eyes and saw someone standing in front of her, it was Houki. She held the Silver Gospel at bay with one of her swords.

"Get up!" She shouted at Cecilia, as she struggled to hold off the attack. Cecilia did as she was told and fired a few blasts to make the Silver Gospel back away. She watched as it flew back, silently studying them.

Cecilia watched it for a moment and had a feeling it wouldn't attack. She turned toward Houki, "How you doing?" she asked her.

"Been better," Houki replied as she caught her breath. "I don't have that much shields left and the others are in worse shape. What happened to Naruto?"

Cecilia was silent and Houki began to worry. "What happened?" she asked more forcefully.

"He fell," Cecilia said finally. Houki saw the sadness on her face.

"Cecilia, where is Naruto?" Houki said urgently.

Cecilia was once again silent then pointed toward the ocean. "He's there," she replied. Houki could only watch as tears streamed down her face.

She held Cecilia. "We will find him," she stated as her friend cried. Houki turned and looked at the Silver Gospel. "First we need to finish that off."

Cecilia nodded. "I have lost all of my bits and my shields are at 310," she said. "My rifle is still in working order, but my leg thruster is out of commission so I can't get into the air."

Houki nodded. "It's ok" she said and looked over her own shields. She was at 250 and all of her weapons were functional. "You set up a barrage and I will attack it from the air."

"Got it!" Cecilia said and leveled her blaster. "Take this!" she shouted as she fired her weapon at the Silver Gospel making it move away. It flew to the side and fired back. Cecilia ran across the cliff dodging the grenades and fired back. The Silver Gospel dodged and was about to retaliate when it dodged a sword strike from Houki.

"Die!" Houki shouted, and charged the Gospel. She brought her sword down but the Silver Gospel dodged to the side and attacked with a laser grenade. Houki avoided the attack while Cecilia fired her rifle. The Gospel dodged the attack only to get hit by Houki. It flew back and looked at the pair before raining down laser grenades. Houki passed by Cecilia, Cecilia ran out of land. She watched as the laser grenades came down, throwing her off the cliff.

"Naruto," was her final thought as the blast hit.

-With Naruto-

Naruto slowly sank into the water, all his systems offline. Only the backup life support was active.

"Damn!" he thought as he sank. "DAMN IT! Why Freedom, why?"

He slowly let the darkness take him, when he heard Cecilia voice. "Naruto!" she cried as laser grenades rained down on her with no escape.

"NO!" he thought and tried to get to her, but he just sank further and further away. "I have to get to her!" He tried to move his arms, but nothing worked. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Move! FREEDOM!"

Suddenly his vision was filled with light and he smiled.

-With Cecilia-

She waited for the attack to reach her but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw Naruto in front of her, shield out.

"You're not touching her, you bastard!" he said as he held his place. Cecilia watched in awe as he held back the attack with half of his IS missing. He had his shoulder and waist blaster, his wings and his shield. The meteor was still attached but one of the stabilizers was missing. He has taken a lot of damage but here he was, protecting her with all his might. Soon the barrage ended, but Naruto didn't drop his guard.

"Are you ok?" he asked Cecilia, as he watched the enemy.

Cecilia was silent, still in shock that Naruto had come. "I…I'm fine," she finally said.

"I'm glad," Naruto replied. "I'm going to end this, stay here."

Naruto took off into the air as Cecilia looked on. She wanted to stop him and get him away from the battle but he was gone again. "Please be safe," she whispered.

Naruto flew up and hovered, watching his target. It was currently dodging attacks from Houki as he leveled all his remaining weapons. "Fall!" Naruto shouted and fired. Houki heard him and broke off her attack. The Gospel turned and saw the attack coming toward it. It danced through the blast and returned fire. Naruto dodged to the side and fired back. He watched as the Gospel was able to evade his attack and charge toward him. Naruto tried to create distance but the Gospel was faster and hit him hard in the stomach. He flew back a bit and tried to counter attack but the Gospel wouldn't let up on its attacks. Naruto was thrown around and was sent skipping across the water until he reached the beach.

"Damn," he said as he tried to get up. He looked up at the Silver Gospel and slowly got up. "Come on Freedom just give me one chance," he thought. "Please, I need to protect my friends."

It seemed that the Freedom heard him and he watched as the remaining GN drive came back online. "Thank you," he whispered, relieved, and looked at the Silver Gospel. "Max output on the drive, activate full burst mode." The Freedom was soon glowing a bluish-green, as particles danced around its form. Naruto leveled all of his blasters and started to fire. The Silver Gospel dodged a few of the attacks but the sheer amount of fire power soon overwhelmed it. If fell a few feet and Naruto charged forward and punched it in the face sending it flying. The Gospel righted itself and charged Naruto. It sent a barrage of laser grenades at him, which Naruto dodged with ease. He flipped in the air and fired making the Gospel dodged to its left.

"Damn," he thought as he missed, and charged forward. He brought his fist back and hit the Gospel in the face, then fired a barrage of lasers. The Gospel was hit by the attacks and fell down a few feet before it righted itself and retaliated with a barraged of laser grenades. Naurto was not fast enough and was hit by most of the attack. He lost his left shoulder armor and his left wing. He floated in the air looking at the Gospel.

"I have to put it all into the next attack," Naruto thought to himself. "Please Freedom, let's end this!"

Suddenly a word flashed across his screen, **Rasengan**. Naruto looked at this in wonder and smiled. "Thanks Freedom," he said turning his attention back to the Gospel. "Time to end this!" He charged forward as particles began to gather in his right hand. They began to slowly spin in all directions and compress into a blue ball. The Gospel saw Naruto charging and launched a barrage of laser grenades at him, Naruto knew he could dodge charged the attack head on.

Cecilia watched as Naruto charged forward, wondering why he wasn't trying to dodge. "Naruto!" she shouted as she watched the attack hit him. She waited to see him fall but nothing happened. Suddenly Naruto appeared out of the smoke and thrusted the spinning ball into the Silver Gospel.

"**RASENGAN**!" Naurto shouted as he pushed the attack into the Gospel. Everyone watched as the ball drilled into the Gospel and sent it flying. Naruto watched as it fell and saw the pilot get released from its IS. He flew down and caught her before landing on the beach, set her down, and everyone rushed him. Suddenly a blue blur flew past the group and tackled the blonde.

Cecilia straddled Naruto and gave him an angry look as tears streamed down her face. "You idiot!" she shouted at him, hitting him in the chest. "I thought I'd lost you and you came back and nearly left me again, IDIOT!"

"I'm sorry," Naruto said. Cecilia just looked down at him before hugging him tightly.

"I thought I'd lost you," she cried.

Naruto stroked her hair, "It won't happ…." he suddenly stopped and blacked out.

"Naruto!" Cecilia said as she watched his eyes close.

-A while later-

All the girls were standing in the briefing room. When the girls arrived with the unconscious Naruto, he was rushed to the medical station. Cecilia tried to follow but Orimura-sensai stopped her.

"Go to the briefing room now," she ordered the girls. They all stood there waiting on Chifuyu. Yamada-sensai was in the room and was watching the girls. Cecilia noticed that her eyes were red and puffy, so she knew she had been crying. She wondered why she had been crying but was pulled out of her musing when Orimura-sensai entered the room. She walked in front of the girls and glared at them.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused?" she said in an extremely calm voice that unnerved everyone.

"We defeated the enemy," Rin said but the look she got from Orimura-sensai shut her up again.

"Yes, you defeated the Gospel," she said as she paced around the room. "How did you do that?" From what I observed many of you were out of the fight after a few minutes. It was only because Naruto came, and defeated the Gospel, that you were successful."

Everyone hung their heads in shame as they remembered how broken and beaten Naruto and his IS were. Cecilia looked at Orimura-sensai, her eyes pleading. "How is Naruto doing?" she asked, the worry evident in her voice.

Chifuyu looked at Cecilia, "he is still unconscious but overall he is ok," she said. "His IS, on the other hand, has been all but destroyed. We are still finding parts all over the battle field."

"What's going to happen now?" Charlotte asked.

Chifuyu looked at the girls and turned. "Get some rest," was all she said and they all left the room. She watched them leave before turning back to the holo-consoles. "Dial Kushina Namikaze," she ordered.

She listened as the phone rang and soon there was a voice at the other end. "Konoha Industries, Kushina speaking," said Kushina Namikaze.

"Mrs. Namikaze, this is Chifuyu Orimura from IS Academy," Chifuyu said. "I am calling concerning your son."

She heard Kushina sigh, "What he did this time," she asked with an expecting tone. "I told him not to prank people when he was there. Oh lords, please don't tell me he was peeking on the girls bath. If he was, please feel free to beat him."

"It.." Chifuyu tried to say, but Kushina didn't listen.

"Where's Jiraya?" Kushina asked someone in the backround, and Chifuyu heard someone answer. Soon the sound of footsteps filled the phone. Chifuyu heard a male voice greet Kushina before the cries of pain filled the phone. "You pervert, you corrupted my boy!" Chifuyu heard the sounds of a male getting beaten 'til the point of death for several minutes, while Kushina cried about corrupting Naruto.

Soon the sounds faded and Kushina voice came through the voice. "What were we talking about again?"

Chifuyu sighed. "Just like her son" she thought before replying. "I was calling to tell you that Naruto has been hurt."

Kushina was silent for a moment. "What happened?" she asked her voice barely audible. Chifuyu proceed to explain the Silver Gospel Incident to Kushina, who was silent throughout the whole.

"How is he doing right now?" Kushina asked.

"He's banged up but nothing serious," Chifuyu said and heard Kushina let out a sigh of relief.

"I will be there as soon as I can," Kushina said.

"I will wait for your arrival," Chifuyu said and hung up the phone.

-A Few days later-

Naruto sighed as he stared at the ceiling. "I hate hospitals," he said to himself. Even though he was fine, the nurse wanted him to stay for observation for a few days. This had already made the blonde bored out of his mind. So he only form of entertainment was counting the number of tiles on the ceiling.

He had reached 367 when he heard his door open. He turned and saw a flash of blue fly toward him. He suddenly felt a familiar weight against his body and saw Tatenashi straddling him.

"Hello Naruto," she said with a sultry smile. "I missed you."  
>Naruto smiled and tried to hide his blush, but unfortunately, it wasn't working. "Hi Tatenashi," he replied. "What brings you here?"<p>

She smiled and leaned in very close. "Can't I come visit my favorite blonde?" she whispered into his ear. Naruto went stiff at this while Tatenashi just smiled. She leaned in closer and pressed herself against him. Naruto tried not to lose his cool but Tatenashi wasn't going to stop this time.

"My,my," she said with a smile. "Don't you look hot. Why don't I help you cool down." she leaned in and used her mouth to slowly unbutton his shirt.

Naruto could only watch in shock, as she undid the buttons so very slowly. He could see how painstakingly sensual she was being with each and every button. He tried to think but he couldn't stop looking at the girl on top of him, and what she was doing.

Suddenly the door swung open and a tall man with long, spiked, silver hair walked in. "Hey brat wha…" he started to say, but stopped as he looked at the pair. Tatenashi stopped as she and Naruto looked at the man.

He just smiled and gave Naruto a thumbs up. "I approve," he said and pulled out a notebook. "Please carry on."

"Jiraya, stop being a pervert!" a woman voice said and Jiraya was sent flying across the room. Soon a woman with long red hair walked into the room and looked at the pair.

"Hello," she said as she looked at them. "Excuse me miss, why are you on top of my son."

Tatenashi got off Naruto and turned to face the red head. "Hello,my name is Tatenashi Sarashiki. It is nice to meet you Mrs. Namikaze," she said as Naruto watched the exchange.

Kushina looked over Tatenashi with motherly precision. "It is nice to meet you as well,"she replied. "Back to my original question, why were you straddling my son?"

Tatenashi was silent for a moment. "I was just helping him cool off," she said with a smile on her face that made Naruto blush.

Kushina was silent for a few moments. "I thank you for trying to help my son, but next time, make sure to do it in a room with a locked door," she said with a smile, that made Naruto fall out of bed.

Naruto got up and back into bed, his mind spinning. Tatenashi watched this and giggled. She walked over to him and kissed him on his check. "I'll see you later, ok?" she said and left the room. Naruto watched as she left the room, his hand on his freshly kissed cheek.

Kushina looked at her son and smiled. "Soo, is there anything you would like to tell me?" she said sweetly.

"MOM!" Naruto shouted as Kushina laughed.

"It's just so easy to tease you," she said as she smiled. "You're just like your father."

Naruto smiled at the comment but sighed as well. "So what brings you here?"

Kushina walked toward the bed and sat down next to Naruto. "Chifuyu called and told me what happened," she said and Naruto nodded. "I had to come and make sure you are ok."

"I expected as much," he said and sighed. "It was a tough battle. I lost most of the Freedom because of it."

Kushina nodded and pulled him close. "I'm just glad you're safe," she said as a few tears fell down her face

-A few days later-

Naruto was finally released from the hospital and allowed back to classes. Kushina had decided to stay, due to the fact that it was almost the end of term. Naruto sighed as he walked toward his IS hanger. He slowly opened the door and turned on the lights. Kyuubi saw him walk in and walked over to him. She had been looking over what remained of the Freedom and the GN drives.

Naruto bent down and picked her up. "Hey girl," he said with a smile. "Thanks for watching over the Freedom, or what's left of it."

Kyuubi just nodded as he scratched her behind her ears. He set her down on the worktable and headed over to the computer. He watched as it started up and saw that the Freedom was unsalvageable. He sighed to himself, wondering what he was going to do.

"Well, there's always my other designs," Naruto told himself, shaking his head. He hadn't put as much time into the others as he had the Freedom, and they needed time in development before they were ready for use.

"Dang brat, you did a number on it didn't you," A voice said from behind him. Naruto turned and saw Jiraya standing over him.

"Hi Ero-Sennin," Naruto said, making Jiraya facepalm.

"Would you stop calling me that!" he shouted, red in the face, while Naruto laughed.

"I will stop calling you that when you stop, being a pervert and writing the crap you call books," he replied as he looked at the computer screen.

"I'm not a pervert. I am a super pervert!" Jiraya said with pride.

"Don't let any of the girls here you say that, especially Chifuyu," Naruto said with a chuckle.

Jiraya looked at Naruto. "So, it's Chifuyu, not Orimura-Sensai, is it brat?" he said. "Having a special lesson with the teacher? Hehehe"

Naruto hit Jiraya on the top of his head. "Ero-Sennin!" he shouted, then went back to work.

"Damn brat," Jiraya said. "Anyway, what's your plan on fixing the Freedom?"

Naruto just sighed and turned to look at the remains of the IS. "I have no idea," he said. "I lost a lot of parts in the battle and was not able to recover them all. I still have my GN drives at least, but I have to build an entirely new IS to fit them. The Meteor could barely hold the GN's power for an extended period, case in point, my entire system shutdown in the middle of a fight."

"Don't you have other designs?" Jiraya asked, and Naruto nodded.

"I have tons," he said as he pulled up his designs folder. "The only one that could work right now, is Exia. This design is specifically built to hold at least one GN Drive. It's built for close range."

"Then why not build that one," Jiraya asked.

"There are many things I need to test before I am able to even conceive of building it," Naruto said, as he went into IS engineer mode. "First, I need to find a frame strong enough to handle the strain of the GN Drive. Next, is to find the correct linkage and weight-to-power ratios, to make it move. Then, there are the weapons which need to be tested to make sure they are safe for combat."

"Then get started brat," Jiraya said. "You have all summer."

Naruto sighed and knew he was right. This was his best option right now but he felt as if it wasn't the right time for the Exia. His gut was telling him the Freedom wasn't out of it yet. "Damn it!" Naruto shouted, causing Jiraya to jump.

"I need some air," Naruto said and left the hanger. Jiraya just watched him go before pulling out a notebook.

"Time to find the bathhouse," he said and headed toward the girls' dorms.

Naruto walked along the waterside path and looked out on the ocean. He wondered what he could do about the Freedom but nothing was coming to mind. He kept walking and didn't notice someone fall into step with him.

"Naru-kun?" a voice said getting his attention. Naruto turned his head and saw Tabane standing next to him.

"Hi Tabane," he said, but before he could say anything else, she tackled him to the ground.

"Don't scare me like that," she said as she hugged him. "I thought I had lost you."

Naruto just sighed and stroked her hair. "It would take a lot more than a rogue IS to take me down," he said.

"Well, the Gospel came pretty close," she said and looked into his eyes.

"Well, I am still here," he said, reassuring her.

"Yes you are, but the Freedom is not," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "It was a wonderful IS."

"Yeah, it was," Naruto agreed.

"So, what are you going to do now?" she asked.

Naruto just smiled. "Well, first I'm going to ask you to get off me," he said.

Tabane stood up and gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry Naru-kun."

Naruto smiled. "It's fine," he said and looked out onto the sea. "I really don't know what I'm going to do," he said. "The Freedom is too far gone to salvage, and it would take me months, or even years, to test and build another design."

Tabane nodded. "Then why don't you combine the Freedom with one of your other designs?" she said and Naruto looked at her with shock.

"That's it," he said with a huge smile on his face. "I can take what is left of the Freedom and combine it with the Exia. This will allow me to keep the functionality of the Freedom and use the power of the GN drives to create a brand new IS. Tabane you're a genius!"

Tabane smiled. "I know, but it's nice to hear you say it Naru-kun," she said. Naruto pulled her into a hug. He spun her around, and then kissed her, passionately. Tabane was surprised by the kiss and soon they broke apart. Naruto looked at Tabane and blushed. He didn't mean to kiss her, but he was caught up in the moment.

"Um…I got to go!" Naruto said, and ran back toward his IS hanger. Tabane watched him go and brought her hand to her lips. She smiled. She started to head back toward the dorms when the sound of a man in pain filled the air. She stopped for a moment and wondered who it was.

Over by the dorms was a bloody and beaten Jiraya laying on the ground, the marks of angry females marred his body. He was found by Houki and the others, as they walked toward the dorms, from the bath, as was subjected to righteous fury.

-With Maya-

Maya stood next to Naruto's dorm room. She wanted to talk with him, but hadn't had the chance since they had gotten back from the beach. She had been busy with her work, and wasn't able to see him. She stood outside his dorm and pondered, whether or not, to go in. Suddenly the dorm opened, and red haired woman stepped out of the room. She turned and saw Maya.

"Hello Yamanda-sensai," she said with a smile. "How are you?"

Maya was caught off guard. "H…hello ," she said. "I…..is your son around?"

"Call me Kushina." Kushina said with a smile, "and Naruto is at his IS hanger. He is trying to figure out what he should do about his IS."

Maya nodded. "Yes, it is sad about the Freedom," she replied. "He put a lot of work into that machine, only for it to get destroyed."

"Yeah, it was his pride and joy," Kushina replied. "So, has my son pulled any pranks while he has been here?"

"Only one, but I was able to stop him," Maya said. Kushina looked at her in shock.

"You stopped on of his pranks?" she said. "I can't even do that. How did you do it?"

"I really don't know?" Maya admitted. "He saw me and ran toward me, setting off his own trap."

Kushina listened and smiled. "I see," she said. The smile unnerved Maya and she smiled back.

"Well, I have some paperwork to file. It was nice talking to you," Maya said hastely and headed toward her room, only to run into a wall. Kushina watched this and smiled.

"He's going to have some explaining to do," she said and started to walk toward the dorm entrance. "I might be getting some grandbabies soon."

-A few days later-

Naruto sat in his dorm working on his new design; He had combined the Exia and the Freedom to create the Strike Freedom. He was happy he was able to find a way to keep the Freedom alive, but it wasn't going as he had planned. He was in the middle of trying to get the correct formation so he could get the GN Drive in place as well as the wings, when the door burst open.

"Naruto Namikaze!" Kushina shouted, making Naruto turn and looked at his mother.

"What did I do?" Naruto asked. Having no idea what he did wrong.

Kushina gave him a stern look. "You know what you did!" she said. "Come with me."

Naruto just nodded and followed Kushina out of the room. They headed out of the dorm and toward his IS hanger. He wondered what he had done and went through his mind of all the stupid things he had done recently. Unfortunately nothing came to mind. He had been too busy with school and other things to have done anything.

"What is it? Something I did before I left, and she getting her revenge after all this time," he thought to himself. He looked at Kushina. "I am sooo dead!"

She opened the door to and motioned for him to enter. "Get in," she order and Naruto shook his head.

"No,'" he said and backed away. "I have no idea what I did but I'm sorry."

Kushina looked at him and sighed. She grabbed him and started to pull him toward the door. "Get in there."

"NO!" Naruto cried. "I don't want to die!"

"Stop being dramatic!" Kushina shouted and tossed him inside. Naruto rolled across the floor and landed on his back. He sat up and looked around. The lights were off but were suddenly turned on.

"Surprise!" a group of voices shouted, surprising the blonde. Naruto saw all girls standing there next to a table of food.

"Wha…" was all he could say, as he got up off the floor.

Cecilia walked forward and smiled. "We all noticed that you were frustrated about your IS, so we decided to throw you a party to cheer you up."

"Yeah Naru-kun, it time to cheer up!" Tabane said, with a huge smile on her face.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks everyone,"he said, as he saw all the smiling faces. "This is great."

Maya smiled. "Glad you like it," she said and brought him a piece of cake.

Naruto was about to accept the cake when he found a fork full in his face. "Here," Maya said with a blush.

Naruto blushed as well and took the cake off the fork, much to the ire of Cecilia and Tabane. She was about to feed him more when Cecilia walked over with another piece.

"Here's some more," she said with a smile, bumping Maya out of the way. Naruto smiled and ate more cake. "It's great."

Tabane suddenly tackled Naruto and straddled him. "Let me feed you, Naru-kun," she said with a sultry smile. "She brought out a piece of pocky. Naruto blushed as she leaned in, the pocky hanging from her lips. He was about to take the other end when Tabane was suddenly knocked off him. Naruto could only watch as Tabane and Cecilia started to fight on the floor. Naruto just sighed and turned only to see Tatenashi standing before him.

She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's my turn now,"she said and leaned in, capturing his lips. Everyone watched in shock as Tatenashi kissed Naruto. Cecilia,Tabane,Maya, and surprisingly, Chifuyu watched this with anger. Kushina was smiling. She couldn't wait for grandbabies. Jiraya had his notebook out and was writing as fast as he could.

Tatenashi soon broke the kiss and smiled. "Hope you liked your present," she said in his ear and walked toward the table. Naruto just stood there, frozen.

He turned and saw the anger in the other girls' eyes. "I am soo dead!" he thought to himself as they advanced on him.

-A few days later-

Naruto sighed to himself as he rubbed his cheek. It still hurt from all the slaps he had received. It wasn't his fault that had Tatenashi kissed him. He entered his classroom and sat down. No one had arrived yet, so he was alone.

"Why are girls so confusing?" Naruto asked out loud, as he waited for class to start.

"We're not confusing," a voice said, getting Naruto attention. He turned and saw Chifuyu standing at the front of the class.

"Orimura-Sensai, " Naruto said with surprise. "I didn't notice you there."

Chifuyu looked at Naruto. "I just got here," she replied.

An uncomfortable silence settled between the pair as they both tried to occupy themselves. Naruto was working on his design while Chifuyu graded papers. They sat in silence as they worked, Naruto took a chance to glance at Chifuyu and couldn't help but admire her beauty. She was really a Goddess in human form.

Chifuyu noticed him staring and gave him a stern look. "Anything interesting you're looking at Naruto?" she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Umm…," he replied, a blush spread across his face. "I was just thinking about how beautiful you are."

Chifuyu was taken aback by this comment, a small blush crossed her face that quickly disappeared. "Please refrain from flattery ," she said, and Naruto sighed.

"I'm sorry for telling the truth," he said, surprising her again. "But, you are beautiful. Is it soo bad to say it out loud?"

**That the chapter my friend, it was a fun one to write and I really hope you like it. I plan on making a new arc after this chapter, the Rebirth Arc. We will see the Strike Freedom come to life as well as new enemies come into play. I am really happy for all you reviews and it helps me get motivated to write. Please tell me what you like about this chapter and the story as a whole and what I can do to make it better. I am really happy for everyone who likes my stories and I hope to continue to write more in the future. I have a few ideas floating around that I hope to have up one day. **

** One idea is a Naruto/Avatar crossover. This is where Azula escapes from prison and is transported to Naruto's world. She will meet Naruto and he will heal her and her heart. **

** The other is a mass effect/Naruto crossover. This is where Tali is sent to investiage an mass relay that has been abandoned outside the termious systems. She will end up on Naruto world and she will be in for a wild ride.**

** Anyway, Please review and tell me what you think of the chapter as a whole. What parts were funny, sad, exciting, stuff like that. Also what you think of this story as a whole. Please REVIEW!**

**Edited by Jessica**


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto sat at his desk and sighed to himself, "Why is this so dang hard!" he shouted as he looked at his laptop. He had finished the initial design on the new Freedom, but there were still a few things that were not matching up. He sighed to himself once again and got out of his chair. It was almost summer break and he wanted to at least have the designs done so he could start building when he got home. He sat down on his bed and laid back.

"Why is this not working?" he said out loud but no answer came. His vision was suddenly filled with red and smiled. He picked up Kyuubi from off his face and set her in his lap. He smiled as he started to slowly pet her fur making her purr. "You always know how to help me relax."

Naruto sat on his bed petting Kyuubi for awhile until her heard a knock at his door. He got up and set kyuubi on the bed, "Coming," he called and headed towards the door. Chifuyu stood in front of him her arms crossed around her chest. Naruto just looked at her with surprise. "Orimura-sensei, what brings you here?"

"May I come in?" she asked and Naruto nodded, moving aside. She walked inside and looked around the room. It had changed much since her last visit, except there were IS parts all over.

"Sorry for the mess," he said as he looked around the room, "I just have been busy."

"I can see that," Chifuyu stated as she sat down in the desk chair.

Naruto took the chair across from her and smiled, "So what brings you to my humble abode this fine day?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," she said looking at the blonde.

"I'm doing fine," he replied but could tell there was more to the visit, "But that not the real reason you came here is it?"

Chifuyu sighed inwardly, "Yes, that is true," she said and looked at the blonde, "I came to talk to you about our recent encounters."

Naruto looked at her with confusion, "What about them?" he asked.

"I think you have been out of line in your comments on my appearance," Chifuyu said making the blonde look at her as if she was crazy.

"So I can't give you a compliment of how you look?Why?" he asked.

This didn't surprise Chifuyu one bit, "It is not proper for a student to look at a teacher and compliment her on her looks," she said making Naruto fall to the ground.

"Why not?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"It is just not," she stated making Naruto facepan.

He shook his head, "That not an answer, "he replied and Chifuyu gave him a stern look.

"A student job is to listen to the teacher and try to retain what he/she is trying to teach, "she stated while looking the blonde in the eyes, "A student who falters his/her teacher is a disruption to the learning process and it makes it uncomfortable for the teacher."

"If you feel uncomfortable about me complimenting you, you could have told me to stop," he stated simply, "Is that what you want?"

"Yes," Chifuyu stated and Naruto nodded.

"I will try to keep it professional when we are in class," Naruto said.

Chifuyu nodded and got up, "Thank you," she said and headed towards the door.

"No problem Chifuyu," he said as he opened the door, "I see you around, and by the way you look stunning." Chifuyu looked at him with surprised; he said he would stop complimenting her. Naruto saw the confusion on her face, "I said I would stop complimenting while in class, we are not in class so that rule doesn't apply, and have a good day."

Chifuyu stood outside the door and soon a frown adorned her face, "That boy," she said and headed back towards her room, wanting nothing more than to use a bokken to beat Naruto into a bloody pulp.

-A few days later-

Naruto sighed to himself as he finished packing his gear. School has just let out for the summer and her planned to head home and work on his new IS. HE finally finished the design for the Strike Freedom and was happy with its overall design. He kept many of the original weapons from the Strike, he had added all the swords from Exia allowing him to be more effective as close range, the biggest addition was the high energy particle cannon he had added to the chest area. As he looked over the design he couldn't help but be happy. He was able to salvage most of the old Freedom and planned on integrating most of the parts into the new IS. Unfortunately he had to build a new frame for scratch. He sighed to himself as he packed the last box of parts and loaded them onto a pallet to be picked up later.

"That's the last of it," he said as he sat down and looked around the now empty IS storage area. Kyuubi walked over to him and wrapped one of her tails around his leg and tried to pull him along. He felt the pull and smiled, "Ok Kyu, I'm going."

Naruto picked up Kyuubi and help her in his arms and headed towards the tram area. He was excited to be going home yet sad at the same time. He was going to miss his friends and a few certain females. He sat down on one of the benches and waited for the tram lost in thought.

"It's going to be an interesting summer," he thought as he waited, "I going to be building the Strike Freedom and working to improve the GN Drive output and power distribution. So I probably am going to be working all summer. It is going to be kinda lonely without Tatenashi, Honne, Cecilia, Maya, Tabane, and Chifuyu."

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts as the tram pulled up and he boarded. The door was about to close when someone rushed in behind him. Naruto turned and saw a breathless Tatenashi standing behind him with a large suite case in hand.

"Safe," she said as she tried to catch her breath.

Naruto looked at her and sighed before pulling a bottle of water out of his bag, "Here." He said and held out the bottle of water to Tatenashi.

Tatenashi took the bottle and gave the blonde a grateful smile. "Thanks Naruto." She said as she opened the bottle and drank the water. Naruto watched as some of the content spilled out of the sides and slowly made it way down Tatenashi form and into her clothes. He quickly looked away and chided himself for acting like a pervert.

Tatenashi noticed that he looked and smiled; she walked over to Naruto and gave him a smile, "Naruto." She said making him look at her.

"Yes Tatena?" he asked when he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.

"Can I rest on you?" she whispered in his ear while he froze in place, "I'm soo tried from trying to make the tram." Naruto just nodded and Tatenashi smiled. She loved to make him freeze. Naruto machincally lifted his hand and held onto the stabilizing bar while Tatenashi leaned against him. They rode the tram all the way into town and beyond, finally stopping at the end of the line which was the local airport. Naruto had finally came to his senses and was blushing up a storm as he felt Tatenashi press herself against her body.

"Why does she do this to me?" he thought as he felt the tram come to a stop. Naruto sighed to himself in relief as he let his hand drop from the stabilizing bar.

"It's time to go." He said to Tatenashi but she didn't want to let go. "Tatenashi I need to move."

"No," Tatenashi replied, "This is too comfortable.

Naruto sighed and didn't know what to do. The tram was going to head back to the school soon and he didn't want to miss his flight. He looked down and saw Kyuubi using her tail to pick up one of his smaller bags and head out the tram. Naruto quickly grabbed his bags, as well as Tatenashi and held them in his arms. He then scooped up Tatenashi with his free arm and he rushed out the door. He followed Kyuubi through the crowd and soon they had exited the station and entered the airport. As he walked he failed to notice all the stares he was received as he walked around with Tatenashi in his arms. He walked towards the terminal and flashed his IS Academy badge, this allowed him to get through security with little hassle, if he didn't have Tatenashi in his arms that is.

One of the security officers help up his hand and stopped Naruto.

Naruto sighed and stopped not wanting to get into any more hassle. "Yes officer?" he asked trying to mask the annoyance in his voice.

"Can you show identification for the girl in your arms?" the officer stated and Naruto looked at him with annoyance.

"I do but I kinda can't get it." Naruto replied as his annoyance began to seep into his voice.

"I'm sorry for the incovinace but I will have to see some id." The officer stated.

Naruto gave the officer an evil glare and tried to see which bag had her id, but he couldn't find it. He looked down at Tatenashi and saw that she was asleep and knew she wouldn't be any help. "Can't you cut me a break she asleep." He asked but the officer shook his head.

"Id is required or you cannot enter," the officer stated.

"Oh come on!" Naruto replied with an elevated voice. "I need to get going my flight is going to leave soon."

"Until I can see her id I can let you through." The officer replied. Suddenly Tatenashi yond and lifted her head.

"Are we there yet Naruto?" she asked and looked up at the officers.

"No," Naruto replied, "They won't let us through without seeing your id."

"But I wanna go back to sleep." Tatenashi said with yon as her eyes started to close.

"Just tell me where you school id is and I can get it for you." Naruto said.

Tatenashi nodded and whispered it into his ear. The officer watched as Naruto's face became as red as a beat.

"It's there?" Naruto said with a bit of embarrassment in his voice. Tatenashi nodded. Naruto looked at the Officer, "Can you please let us through?"

"I need to see her id." The officer stated once again.

Naruto sighed, "Tatenashi can't you give me your id please." He said and a sleepy Tatenashi nodded. She moved her hands and reached down into her cleavage and pulled out a small wallet. She opened it up and gave Naruto her id. "Thanks." He said and she nodded and put the wallet back where she held it. While this was going on the officer looked on with indifference on their faces but on the inside they were surprised. "Here." Naruto stated and handed them Tatenashi id.

The officer came out of his stupor and looked over the id; he nodded and said, "You're clear to go through."

"Thank you," Naruto stated and headed through the checkpoint. He looked at the clock and saw that he was going to be late, but he didn't know where Tatenashi was going and he need to get her on her flight first.

"Hey Tatena," he said waking up the girl again.

"Yes Naruto," she said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes

"Where your flight?" he asked her with urgency in his voice.

"Oh," she said and pulled out her ticket from her pocket, much to the relief of Naruto. "I departing from gate A32."

Naruto nodded when suddenly had a ping of surprise, "That where I departing from."

He stated.

"Really?" Tatenashi said with surprise that seemed rather faked. "I didn't know."

Naruto didn't believe her surprise one bit but he didn't have time to dwell on it. "Ok let's go." He said and headed towards their terminal. They soon arrived as boarding had started. Naruto tried to set Tatenashi down but she wouldn't have it.

"I still tired," she said and pulled herself closer to the blonde.

"Fine just give me your ticket." He said, Tatenashi nodded and handed him her ticket. They pair soon boarded the plane and Naruto found that he was actually sitting next to Tatenashi on the flight. He looked at Tatenashi who just gave him a smile. He knew she had somehow made it so they were sitting together but he didn't know how. He set her down in her chair and took his seat.

Tatenashi rested her head against his shoulder and smiled, "That was a fun." She stated as she leaned on the blonde.

"Yeah," Naruto answered back with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Tatenashi seemed to not notice or just ignored his comment as she soon fell asleep on the Naruto. He looked at Tatenashi and smiled. He grabbed her blanket in the seat pocket and put it over her sleeping form.

-After the flight-

Naruto streached as he walked through the airport towards the enterence with Tatenashi beside him. She tried to get him to carry her but he didn't fall for it this time, so she had to settle for walking beside him. They walked in silence letting the world pass them by, they finally reached the entrance and Naruto smiled he was home.

"I'll see you later," he said to Tatenashi, pulled out a set of keys, and headed towards the parking lot. He reached the first row of cars and found a light blue Subaru WRX hatchback with the license plate FOXZZ.

Naruto smiled and unlocked the car and loaded his bags into the trunk he was about close it when he saw a bag fly inside. He turned and saw Tatenashi standing there with a smile on her face.

"Umm…?" he said the confusion clearly evident on his face.

"Oh I got a job working at Konoha Industries." She stated with a smile.

Naruto looked at her for a moment, "When did this happen?" he asked

Tatenashi smiled, "Oh a while ago." She said and opened the passanger side door of the car and got inside. Naruto just stood there frozen; suddenly the sound of the car horn filled the air making him jump. He looked inside and saw Tatenashi giving him hurry up look. Naruto just nodded and got inside the car and they headed towards home.

They traveled in silence and Tatenashi watched as the trees rolled pasts. She had to smile as she watched the flashes of green. She had to admit that having the main facility in a forested area was different but it provided a welcome change from other IS companies. They just had flat concrete facilities that had no personality. Konoha on the other had was surrounded by nature and the workers seemed to enjoy it a lot. Naruto smiled as he saw the leaf symbol come into view.

"Home sweet home." Naruto stated with a smile as they pulled into the research complex. Tatenashi looked around with awe, it was a big facility and everywhere people could be seen working against the green backdrop. Everywhere there were different types of IS and IS parts that were being tested or developed. They soon arrived at the main building and pulled into the parking area. Naruto and Tatenashi exited the car and headed inside. They headed inside and Naruto led Tatenashi towards the main offices.

He walked toward a office in the back of the room with a look of determiation on his face. Tatenashi followed behind with a smile. As they passed a few desk someone called out to Naruto.

"Naruto!" a female voice said.

Naruto turned and faced a fair-skinned woman of average height and slender built with blue eyes and black hair. He face lit up, he rushed over and pulled the woman into a hug. "Shizune, it's soo good to see you." He said as he squeezed Shizune with all his might.

"I…It…i..is…grea….great…too….se….see…y…you too." Shizune stammered trying to catch her breath. "Can…you…let…go…can't ….breath."

Naruto let Shizune go and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he stated and Shizune just smiled at him.

"It's ok," she said, "It been awhile since we last saw each other. Well I have to go, Tsuande needs me, I will see you later."

Naruto watched as Shizune started to walk away, "I see you later." He stated and she nodded.

Tatenashi watched the exchange with interest, she smiled and wrapped her arms around Naruto neck, "Who was that?" She asked Naruto.

Naruto tried not to freeze as he felt Tatenashi press herself against him. "That my sister Shizune." He stated.

"Your sister?" Tatenashi said with a hint of surprise in her voice. "I thought you were an only child."

Naruto smiled, "I am," he stated, "Shizune is the adopted daughter of my grandmother Tsunade Senju, she been with me since I grew up so she is my sister."

"Oh," Tatenashi said as they started to walk again. They soon arrived at a large oak door with the name Kushina Namikaze on it. Naruto smiled and opened the door. Kushina sat at her desk review papers as Naruto and Tatenashi walked in. She looked up and smiled when she saw the pair and set down her work.

"Welcome home," Kushina said with a smile and pulled her son into a bone crushing hug. "I've missed you."

Naruto was trying to breathe, "Can…..can't…breath." he stammered but Kushina didn't seem to hear him. Naruto vision slowly went black and he passed out.

Kushina finally noticed that Naruto was out cold, "OH NO!" she shouted and started to shake Naruto profusly. "I sorry!"

Tatenashi watched this and giggled, she just knew that this was going to be an interesting . She watched as Kushina moved Naruto towards a couch on the side wall of the office and laid him down. She looked over son with a smile on her face before turning to face Tatenashi.

Kushina moved towards her desk and motioned for Tatenashi to sit in the chair in front of the desk. Tatenashi did as directed and sat down. She watched as Kushina expression changed from that of a loving mother to the eyes of a harden business woman.

Kushina looked over the girl in front of her and opened a file on her desk, she read over a few papers and than looked over at Tatenashi. "I see you have to top grades in your class as well as the strongest pilot at the Academy." Kushina said looking Tatenashi in the eyes. "The reason I brought you here is to test our improved model of the one of our older generation IS models." Tatenashi nodded and Kushina continued. "The models you will be test are the following, first we have theZGMF-X2000 Gouf Ignited. This IS suit is equipped with the following, MA-M757 "Slayer Whip" Heat Rod, M181SE "Draupnir" 4-barrel Beam Gun, MMI-558 "Tempest" Beam Sword, Shield, and M68 "Cattus" 500mm Recoilless Rifle. Next we have the GAT-04 Wingdom, this is a decanted of the Strike, it is equipped with M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, ES04B Beam Saber, Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator, A52 Offensive Shield Type E, Mk438/B Dual Multipurpose Missile "Würger" SA10, and M9409L Beam Rifle. Another feature of the Wingdom is that ability to mount Striker packs. Lastly you will test one of our news models, will be testing our lasted model the SVMS-01 Union Flag, this is our lasted prototype. These suit is equipped with Linear Rifle, Sonic Blade, Defense Rod and 20mm Machine Gun."

Tatenashi looked over all the designs and marveled at how many IS she was going to test, she thought she was just testing one but three was surprising. She was confused though, she thought the Strike was going to be their main focus, "What about the Strike?" she asked Kushina.

Kushina sighed, "The Gat-X05 Strike is an extreme well made machine," Kushina replied and looked out the window, "Unfortantly the material to produce the Strike on a massive scale are very expensive so it would be counterproductive to out business. The Strike is being reclassified as a personal Machine for Honne Nohotoke."

Tatenashi nodded, "Is there anything else you need ma'am." Tatenashi asked.

Kushina smiled, "Nothing else," she said, "Except, no hanky panky on the clock, got it?"

Tatenashi smiled, "Yes ma'am." She replied with a salute.

"Good," Kushina said as a warm smile spread across her face. "I will have Shizune show you to your room, I expecpt great things from you."

Tatenashi nodded and exited the office with a smile on her face.

-With Chifuyu-

It had been a week since school had ended and Chifuyu had spent most of the time at her home. She had been review most of the test scores of the class and had finally settled on Naruto's. She looked at his face and sighed. He was the one person who unnerved her,he was just so different from anyone she had ever met. He was always smiling and care free, only to be serious and cool when the time calls for it. She recalled the battle against the Silver Gospel and couldn't help but smile as she watched Naruto take down the IS with a nearly detroyed IS. He never gave up and always pushed forward, it was one of his more endering qualities.

"That boy," she mumered as she set down his file. Why did he linger in her mind? Why was he so different? She sighed to herself and got up from her desk and headed out of her room. As she walked she saw her brother Ichika sitting on the couch surrounded by Houki, Charlotte, Rin, and Laura. They were all trying to get his attention while he was completely oblivious to it all. Chifuyu decided it was better to head out then watch the scene go on. She headed back to her room and quickly changed.

She finally left the house and headed towards the local bar. A good drink was always a good way to clear the mind, or cloud it, depending on a person opinion. As she walked she didn't notice someone walking towards her.

"Chifuyu," a voice said from behind. Chifuyu turned and saw Miya standing there with a smile on her face.

"Maya," Chifuyu said with her usual aloofness.

Maya smiled, "So what brings you this way?" she asked her friend.

"Just need a drink," Chifuyu replied, "There been a lot on my mind lately."

"Mind if I join you," Maya asked, "It is always better to drink with a friend."

Chifuyu nodded and the pair headed towards the bar. They walked in silence each in theit own little world. They reached the bar and found a few open seats at the end of the bar. They took their seats and ordered, a friendly silence between them.

Chifuyu looked at Maya and couldn't help but notice something differnet about her. Ever since Naurto had came to the Academy Maya had changed, it was a minute change but a change just the same. She had glow about her that Chifuyu couldn't pinpoint. She watched Maya as she took a sip of her drink and decided to question her.

"Maya," Chifuyu said getting her friend's attention. "Can I ask you something?"

Maya looked at Chifuyu and smiled, "Sure."

"What changed?" Chifuyu asked.

Maya looked at her firend with a look of confusion on her face, "what do you mean?" she asked.

"You seem different," Chifuyu replied as she tried to put it into words, "You seem too different. I was wondering what changed."

"I don't feel different," Maya stated as she thought about it, "I feel the same as I did before."

Chifuyu nodded and started to think, "The change started to happen when Naurto first came to school."

Maya's face started to get a slight red hue to it at the mention of Naruto's name. This wasn't lost on Chifuyu and she decided to press Miya about it. "Did something happen between the two of you?" she asked and she watched Miya blush even more.

Maya was silent as she tried to find the right words to say. She didn't expect for Chifuyu to bring up Naruto.

"It's all right you can tell me." Chifuyu said taking another swing of her drink.

Maya was quiet for a few more moments, "We became close during the semester." She finally stated as she looked back on her encounters with Naruto.

"Close?" Chifuyu said not showing any emotions.

Maya nodded as a smile spread across her face, "Yes close. Naruto has something about him that makes me want to be near him." Maya said as she remembered her times with the Naruto.

Chifuyu listened and couldn't help but agree with what Maya was saying. Naruto had a way to draw people to him. She seen it with Cecilia,Honne, Tatenashi, Tabane, Maya, and surprisingly herself. He was truly one of a kind. She pictured the Naruto in her mind and smile, a small hint of a blush on her face.

"Maybe I will pay him a visit." Chifuyu stated as she finished of her drink.

-With Naruto-

It had been several days since Naruto had returned home and he was currently held up in his personal research lab. He stared at his computer screen and looked over the blueprints of the Strike Freedom and smiled. He had everything in it proper place and he was ready to start fabrication. He got up and headed towards the far side of the wall. On one of the tables sat kyuubi lying next to a large pile of metals. He petted Kyuubi head for a few moments before pulling out a few pieces of longe square pieces and walked over to the wielding station. Naruto like to use more hand on methods in building his IS. He always felt better when he had hand crafted each part, screwed in each screw, and polished the out shell till it shined. It made him feel as if he was one with his IS.

He grabbed his wielding gear and set one of the bars on the wielding table. Slowly he turned on the gas that powered the wielder and he pulled his wielding mask down to cover his face. He ignited the wielding rod and watched as the super heated flames came to life. He brought the super heated rod towards the metal bar and let the sparks fly. He slowly started cut the bar in half and soon the sound of metal hitting the floor. Naruto smiled and continued his work.

-With Tatenashi-

Tatenashi sat in the waiting room in her IS gear. It had been several days since she came to the facility and today was the first day she was going to be able to pilot one of the IS she was going to test. She was excited; she had read over the specs for the three machines and couldn't help but be in awe of their capabilities. The Gouf Ignited was a very durable IS, it was built to take a hit and didn't need to summon weapons to fight. All weapons were on the machine and you were never unarmed. Next was the Wingdom, it was a water down version of the Strike but with an experienced pilot it could take on any third generation with ease. The Striker Packs is what set it apart from the others so it was very easy to change equipment to fit the situation. Finally there was the Flag, this was by far the fastest machine of the three, it had a simpler design and relied mostly on it close combat weapons. It had a unique defence feature in it defense bar, this bar basically spun and blocked all the projectiles shot at it.

A tech came in, "We are ready for you." He said and Tatenashi nodded.

She followed the tech into the lab and saw the resting form of the Gouf Ignited waiting for her. Its blue color shining in the dimly lit room, it's frame was a bit bulky, but it made up for it in armor. On the right was shield which held the beam sword while on the left was the whip. Tatenashi smiled and walked over the IS and placed her had on it. She felt as the IS surrounded her and adjusted to her body. She looked around a saw that she was wearing a visor. She turned looked in a mirror. The Gouf's shoulders were rounded with a spike on top, the middle hugged her body and protected her all over. The legs were a bit bulky but the extra boosters on the boots allowed for fast adjustments in battle. Finally the head gear, it was a single band around her head with a spike coming out of the middle of the forehead. The visor covered the eyes and the only thing that could be seen by the opponent was a large red eye.

"This is amazing," she said as she looked around the room. She turned towards the tech and smiled. "So where to next?"

"You are to head towards area three," one of the techs said. "Your opponent is waiting for you."

Tatenashi nodded and lifted off the ground and settled into a light hover. She was happy with the quick response of the Gouf and couldn't to really test it abilities even more. She entered the launch area of the Arena three and headed out into the field. She flew to the middle and waited for her opponent. Soon a flash of red was seen and a IS similar to the Gouf flew out. She looked at and saw the computer recognize it at a Zaku. She zoomed in on the pilot and was shocked. Kushina was her opponent.

Kushina smiled as she looked over at Tatenashi, "Surprised?" she asked.

Tatenashi nodded, "I didn't know you could pilot an IS." She replied.

Kushina nodded, "Yeah most people don't know about it," she said, "I was always the first to test when Minato was alive."

Tatenashi nodded, "Shall we get started." She said and lifted her rifle.

Kushina smiled and did the same, "Show me what you got little girl." She replied and charged.

** This is chapter ten folks; it is unedited so if there is any grammar issues please bar with me it will be edited as soon as possible I just wanted to get it posted so bad. I really sorry it has taken awhile for an update it just didn't want to come out, but here it is and I hope to get the next chapters out faster. This is a really fun chapter to write as I plan on having a certain someone finally acknowledge her feeling for a certain blonde. Please tell me what you think of the chapter in a review, the longer the better. It helps me want to write more and helps get the idea flowing. I want to thank all my readers who have stuck by me inuboy86, it been thanks to your constant push, it allowed me to finish the chapter so I thank you. Again please review and tell me, IN DETAIL! what you think of this chapter and of the story overall. I thank you all. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

Kushina charged forward, her rifle leveled at Tatenashi. She pulled the trigger and fired a green laser blast. Tatenashi flew above the beam and returned fire with her rifle. Kushina dodged to the side and continued her charge. Tatenashi also continued to fire at Kushina who weaved through the beams as they hit the ground.

Tatenashi sped up her rate of fire, but Kushina still dodged. Tatenashi knew that if Kushina reached her, that she would be in a very bad position. Tatenashi fired her boosters and charged toward Kushina at full speed. Tatenashi pulled out her sword from her shield, as she charged and brought it down toward Kushina's shoulder.

"I got her," Tatenashi thought, as she watched the blade fall toward Kushina's shoulder. She knew that the speed of decent of the blade was faster than the speed Kushina could dodge.

Kushina watched, as the blade came toward her, and smiled. "Very good,"she thought and continued her charge. As the blade was about to reach her shoulder, she activated her side boosters and spun around the attack, much to Tatenashi's surprise. Tatenashi's attack hit the ground. Kushina spun, grabbed her beam axe from her shield, and brought it around to strike at Tatenashi's back.

Tatenashi saw the flash of the axe and brought her shield behind her, stopping the attack, but the momentum behind the strike made her slide forward a few feet.

Kushina fired her boosters and followed after Tatenashi, bringing her axe down once again. Tatenashi pushed off the ground and flew into the air. She watched as the axe hit the ground and created a cloud of smoke from the force of the attack. She quickly switched to thermal vision and targeted Kushina.

Tatenashi lifted her covered hand, aimed the finger lasers at Kushina, and fired a barrage of small beams.

Kushina saw the warning flash across her screen, but it was too late to dodge and she was hit with the barrage. She flew a few feet back and watched her shield energy fall from 600 to 570. "Damn," Kushina said quickly moving, as the next wave flew toward her.

Tatenashi watched as Kushina flipped forward and brought up her rifle and fired in mid flip. Tatenashi dodged, only to be hit by the next shot from Kushina. Her shield energy only dropped from 600 to 580 so she wasn't worried. Unfortunately she didn't have time to think, when suddenly she saw a barrage of beam flying toward her.

Tatenashi narrowed her eyes, started to dodge the blasts, and fired her own counter attack at the same time. Kushina dodged the counter attack, fired her main thrusters, and charged toward Tatenashi. Tatenashi started to fire beam after beam, trying to stop Kushina's forward momentum. Kushina held up her shield, blocked many of the beams, and pushed her thrusters to maximum.

Tatenashi frowned. She brought her left arm back and let the rod whip fly. Kushina blocked the whip with her shield and charged straight into Tatenashi, knocking her back. Tatenashi flew back but stopped after she activated her main thruster. Her shield energy dropped from 580 to 540. Tatenashi watched as Kushina didn't let up on her attack.

Tatenashi flew toward Kushina, sword drawn, and bashed her shield against Kushina's. Kushina pushed her thrusters, trying to counter Tatenashi's forward momentum, but Tatenashi wouldn't have it. She brought her sword down toward Kushina's shoulder.

Kushina deactived her thrusters, and used Tatenashi's forward momentum to retreat to a safe distance. Tatenashi smiled and let fly, the whip in her right wrist. She caught hold of Kushina's leg and swung her, into the ground, with all the force she could muster. She watched as the impact created a creator and waited for the smoke to clear to see the damage she had caused to Kushina's IS.

Kushina laid on her back, assessing the damage from Tatenashi assault. Most of her armor was intact but her right foot joint was burned and would probably break if she put any weight on it. Her shield energy had dropped from 570 to 480. Kushina made sure everything else was still in working order and charged forward into the dust cloud.

She drew her axe and burst out of the cloud. Tatenashi charged forward as well, as soon as she saw Kushina appear. Kushina brought her axe down and Tatenashi quickly blocked with her shield. Kushina took advantage of her blocked sight and kicked Tatenashi's, shield forcing her down.

Tatenashi frowned and pushed forward. She dropped her shield and unleashed both whips. She flung the right whip in a wide arc and brought it down on Kushina's head. Kushina flew back out of the range of the first whip but was grazed by the second. This burned her right shoulder.

Kushina brought her shield up, blocked the whip attacks, and countered with a barrage of beam fire. Tatenashi dodged the beams and continued her assault with the whips. She brought the right whip in a side sweep, hoping to capture one of Kushina's arms. Kushina brought her axe around and threw it, much to Tatenashi's surprise. She dodged the axe but it cut through one of her whips. Kushina pushed forward and rammed one of her spiked shoulders into Tatenashi.

"Damn," Tatenashi thought as she flew back, her shield dropping from 540 to 530. Tatenashi charged forward and brought her remaining whip down toward Kushina. She was able to catch Kushina's rifle.

Kushina dropped the rifle and watched it blow up. The shockwave hit her shields, dropping them from 480 to 470. She smiled, "she is very good," she thought. "I can see why she is the best in the school."

Kushina charged forward and picked up her discarded beam axe and launched herself high into the air.

Tatenashi blocked the attack with her shield, lifted her hands, firing a barrage of beams from her fingertips. The attack struck Kushina, sending her back, and dropping her shields from 470 to 440. Before Kushina could retaliate she was hit with, yet another barrage of beams, dropping her shields to 410.

Kushina brought her shield up to block the third barrage and started to charge forward. Tatenashi swung her whip about, and tried to catch Kushina, but her attack failed. Kushina stepped into Tatenashi and brought her axe straight into her side.

Tatenashi felt the bite of the axe blade and watched her shields fall to 390. She tried to get away, but Kushina had wrapped her free arm around her head, holding her in place. She took, yet another hit and her shield fell to 250.

Tatenashi was able to break Kushina's hold and flew back. Kushina smiled and pressed her attack. She charged forward, axe held high, only to receive a barrage of beams flying toward her. Kushina dodged to the side, allowing Tatenashi enough time to grab her discarded sword and charge forward. Soon the clash of blades filled the air as each of the pair tried to win. Tatenashi pushed off Kushina and swung her swords in a side swing. Kushina blocked with her shield and brought her axe toward Tatenashi's leg.

Tatenashi fired her thrusters and raised high in the air, dodging the strike. She let out a small sigh of relief. "That was a close one," she thought, but didn't have time to react as Kushina charged her once again.

Tatenashi blocked with her shield and swung her blade in an upward slash. Kushina brought her shield up to her shoulder, to block the attack and quickly swung her axe into Tatenashi's unprotected side. Tatenashi felt the bite of the beam axe and watched her shields drop to 10.

She raised her hand and fired a point-blank range, beam barrage at Kushina, dropping her shields to 360. Kushina flew back a bit before throwing her axe. Tatenashi dodged but was clipped in the shoulder on the axe's return trip, dropping her shield to zero. Her IS slowly floated to the ground and shut down. Kushina floated down and joined Tatenashi on the ground.

"You had me going there," Kushina said with a smile. "I can see I had you test our machines."

Tatenashi smiled. "Thank you for the praise, but I still lost," she said, and Kushina laughed.

"It is fine," she replied. "I have one thing you don't have."

Tatenashi looked at Kushina with curiosity, "and that would be?"

Kushina just smiled. "Experience," she stated and headed toward the changing area.

"I am glad I came here." Tatenashi said to herself, as she headed to change.

-With Naruto-

Naruto sighed as he finished the last weld for the arm of the new Freedom. It had been a slow process of making the frame but he wouldn't have it any other way. He had finished one of the shoulders and was currently working on the right arm. He had finished the upper arm and arm joint, when he decided to call it a day.

He sat down his wielding tools and quickly took off all his gear. Kyuubi walked over and rubbed herself against Naruto's leg; he smiled and picked her up. "Hey girl," he said as he petted her, much to the fox's enjoyment. She licked him and gave him a smile.

"Let's go," her expression said and Naruto laughed.

"Ok, we're going," he said and headed out of his lab. He closed the door and entered the lock code, sealing the room. He walked quickly through the halls and out into the open air. He smiled as he saw the sun set behind the trees. He passed many of the workers, greeted the ones he knew, and finally arrived in front of a large house at the back of the complex. This was his home, the house he had grown up in. He set Kyuubi down, walked up the steps, pulled out a set of keys, and opened the door.

He sighed as he closed the door behind him. "I'm home," he called, letting the sound of his voice echo in the hallways.

"In the kitchen," Kushina voice replied. It had always been like that.

He walked into the kitchen and smiled. Kushina was at the stove making dinner and her cat stood beside her. This cat was as unusual as Kyuubi. It had two tails instead of the usual one. Kushina stated that everyone in their family, attracted unique animals to themselves. The cat's name was Nibi and was Kyuubi's best friend. Kyuubi saw Nibi and gave a yip to get the cat's attention. Nibi looked up, jumped off the table, and walked over to the fox. She stared at Kyuubi for a moment before turning around and walking toward the living room. Kyuubi followed with a swish of all her tails. Naruto walked over and looked to see what Kushina was cooking.

He leaned down. "It smells great," he said, much to Kushina's delight.

"Of course it does," she stated with confidence. "I made it, after all."

Naruto nodded. "Of course mom," he replied and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

He sat down at the table and sighed. He activated the hologram computer on the table and inserted his flash drive so he could work on his IS designs. This was their way of doing things ever since Minato died.

Kushina moved to the counter and started to chop some carrots. "Oh Naruto," she said getting her son's attention. "We are going to have a guest over for dinner, can you be a dear and pick them up for me."

Naruto nodded. "Sure," he replied. "Who is it?"

"Oh just a new employee," she said with a wicked smile that Naruto couldn't see.

"They're staying at the company apartments?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. "Now, they are expecting you at seven, so don't be late."

Naruto checked the time and saw that it was 5:30. "Ok, got it," he said and continued to work on his designs. Kushina came over and dropped a flash drive on the table.

"This is the combat data of the Gouf we got today," she said. "Can you look it over and see what the techs missed?"

"No problem," he said, saving his work before switching drives. He quickly loaded the data and started to read. He was surprised by how well it did in its first battle, and saw that many of the designs they had incorporated, had worked very well. He didn't notice any problems except that the whips were easily broken. "You need to get better material for the whip, it was destroyed too easily."

"I noticed," Kushina said. Naruto looked up at her in surprise. Kushina smiled, "Who did you think cut it?"

"Mom," Naruto said with a sigh. "You said you wouldn't test the new IS."

"_I'm _not testing them," she said giving him a smile. "I am fighting them."

"In what?" he asked.

"You know what," she said.

"So the Zaku is still running?" he asked. "Well dad _did_ know how to build things."

Kushina was silent for a moment. "Yes he did," she replied with a sad smile.

Naruto got up and gave his mother a hug. They stood in silence as they remember their missing family member. A few moments later they broke the hug and went back to their previous tasks. No words were need as they continued. Soon the clocked reached 6:45 and Naruto had stopped working.

"I'm heading out," he stated and Kushina nodded. Naruto headed out to the back, hopped into his car and drove toward the entrance of the complex. Konoha Industries owned most of the land around the complex and had built a town for all the workers. Many of them lived in the apartments in the town. He pulled up in front of the complex and parked the car.

He stepped out and looked around. "Where could they be?" he said to himself, when he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his neck.

"Well, it seems I've found my ride," said a familiar voice. He turned his head and saw Tatenashi behind him, her usual sultry smile on her face. "I missed you."

Naruto tried to stay calm but Tatenashi pressed herself against his back. "Let's go," he managed to say and let a quiet sigh of relief, as he felt Tatenashi release her grip. He tried not to stare at her as she walked. She wore a short sleeved blouse with the top two buttons undone, showing a respectable amount of cleavage, a short frilly skirt and a pair of pigeon-toed high heels.

He opened her door for her and she got in the car. Quickly he shut the door, got to his side, and drove off toward home. They drove in silence. Tatenashi just smiled and moved her head to the music playing on the radio. Naruto glanced over at her and couldn't help but smile as he watched her dance. Tatenashi saw him staring. She gave him a sultry smile and continued to move to the music. Naruto turned away and tried to focus on driving, but Tatenashi seemed to want his full attention. Her moves seemed to accent her natural beauty. Fortunately for Naruto, they had arrived back at his home and he was able to get out the car before something happened.

Naruto opened Tatenashi's door and helped her out of the car. She stepped out and stumbled a bit. Naruto caught her and held her close. They stared into each other's eyes and didn't move. Naruto couldn't help but get lost in Tatenashi's dark red, eyes that seemed to shine in the night. Tatenashi was feeling the same as she stared into Naruto's sea blue, eyes and slowly their faced inched toward each other.

Suddenly the sound of a door opening filled the night and the pair separated. They turned and saw Kushina standing on the porch, a smile on her face. "Am I interrupting anything?" she said with a knowing smile.

Naruto looked at his mom and sighed. Tatenashi just giggled but on the inside she was a bit peeved that their moment was interrupted. Kushina just smiled and headed into the house, and the pair followed her inside.

"Naruto can you show Tatenashi to the living room please," Kushina asked.

"Got it," Naruto called back and led Tatenashi through the house. Tatenashi followed Naruto through the house and couldn't help but look at all of the pictures hanging on the wall. She wasn't able to really focus on the pictures, soon they reached the living room and Naruto led her to the couch.

"So, enjoying your time here," Naruto asked her.

Tatenashi smiled and scooted closer to Naruto. "Of course," she said as she rested her head on Naruto's shoulder. "It is a lot of fun."

"Yeah?" Naruto replied with interest. "What have you been up to?"

"I just did my first test of the Gouf," she said with glee.

"That is a great machine," he said with a smile. "The whips are a unique weapon and its mobility is great."

"Yeah, it was a fun," Tatenashi replied. "The funny thing was, that I fought your mother."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like something she would do," he said and Tatenashi giggled.

"She is lively," she stated as she snuggled closer to Naruto.

Naruto stiffened for a bit but soon relaxed. It felt nice having Tatenashi so close. She infuriated him to no end but he had to admit she was nice to have around. She always seemed to lighten his mood with her, "actions".

"So, how goes the new IS?" Tatenashi asked, breaking Naruto out of his inner thoughts.

"It's going," he said with a small sigh. "I still have a lot of work ahead of me."

"I bet," Tatenashi replied. "There's a lot involved in building an IS."

"Yeah but it will get done," Naruto said with confidence.

Tatenashi nodded and wrapped her arms around Naruto. "I know it will," she said and Naruto smiled. They soon settled into a comfortable silence, with Tatenashi leaning into Naruto while he stroked her hair. A few moments later Kushina walked in and smiled. She observed the scene and didn't want to disturb it at all, but alas, they needed to eat.

"Dinner ready," she called, making Naruto and Tatenashi turn their heads toward her.

Tatenashi slowly got up and off Naruto. Naruto stood up and they headed into the kitchen where they enjoyed a nice dinner filled with laughter and smiles. Naruto smiled as he watched Tatenashi and his mother getting along so well. It brought a smile to his face as he sighed in content.

Kushina noticed that everyone was done with their food and smiled. "Naruto can you be a dear and do the dishes," she asked him with a smile.

"Sure," he replied and got up, collected the dishes and headed toward the sink.

Kushina smiled. "Thanks," she called, and stood up. "Tatenashi and I will be in the living room, so join us there when you're done."

"Got it," Naruto replied and continued his work.

Kushina grinned and turned toward Tatenashi. "So, who wants to see pictures of baby Naruto?" she asked.

Tatenashi smiled. "I would love too," she said and the pair headed toward the living room where the photo albums were kept. While they headed toward the albums, Naruto felt a sudden chill. He knew something embarrassing was going to happen but he didn't know what.

-A little while later-

Naruto entered the living room, a towel in his hands. He finished the dishes and decided that he should check out what the girls were doing.

As he walked into the living room, the sound of giggles filled the air. He wondered what was going on and looked in. Kushina and Tatenashi were seated on the couch, hunched over the coffee table. A feeling of dread soon came over Naruto as he got closer. Kushina and Tatenashi were looking at his baby pictures.

Kushina pulled one out and smiled. "This was when he was three," she said and sighed she looked it over. "He didn't want to take a bath so he was running away."

"Oh he's soo cute," Tatenashi replied as she looked over the picture. Naruto just looked on in horror and quickly took the picture from Tatenashi's hands.

"MOM!" Naruto said, embarrassed.

Kushina turned and smiled. "Oh, lighten up," she said as she took the picture back. "We're just having fun."

Naruto gave her an evil look. "Key word, _you're_ having fun," he stated. "I rather not look over embarrassing photos of myself."

Tatenashi turned and gave Naruto a pout. "But you look so cute!" she said, making him blush a little.

"Yeah, you're so cute," Kushina said as she pulled out another picture. "I can't help but show them off."

Naruto just sighed and shook his head. "You could have warned me first," he responded.

Kushina smiled wickedly. "Where's the fun in that?" she said. Naruto just shook his head.

"I can't win, can I?" Naruto said.

"Of course you can win," Kushina said with a smile. "But, not when it comes to showing off my cute baby boy."

Tatenashi smiled. "He was soo cute then," she said and slowly got up. She walked over to Naruto and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now he's is a man, a sexy one at that."

Kushina watched this and sighed. "Take it outside," she said making Tatenashi giggle and Naruto blush.

"Yes ma'am," Tatenashi replied, dragging Naruto toward the door.

"Wai…." Naruto tried to say but Tatenashi had a tight grip on him. Kushina just watched the pair and smiled.

"Close the deal boy," she said as she watched them disappear out of sight. "I want grand babies!"

-With Naruto and Tatenashi-

Tatenashi dragged Naruto into the night air and smiled. It was a clear night and the stars were out.

"So, shall we continue," she said and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck.

Naruto blushed and quickly got out of her grasp. "Um how about I show you something amazing?" he said.

Tatenashi looked at him with wonder. "Really?" she said with a sultry smile. "Is it something hard and stiff?"

Naruto blushed, "No!" he said quickly. "Just follow me."

Tatenashi just giggled and wrapped her arm around Naruto's arm. "Lead on," she said.

"Follow me hime," Naruto said and Tatenashi giggled. They headed toward the forest and soon were surrounded by trees. It was quiet and dark as most of the trees blocked out the light of the moon. Tatenashi looked around the forest and saw only darkness. She was a tough girl but a dark forest with no sound was something that would freak out, even the bravest person. She turned and looked at Naruto who seem perfectly at peace with the current surroundings. She wondered if he came out here a lot at night, but didn't have time to ponder as she heard a howl fill the forest. She moved closer to Naruto.

"It's ok," he said with a smile. "Nothing is going to hurt you."

"You promise?" Tatenashi asked.

"Of course, and I never break my promises," he replied making Tatenashi brighten up.

"Good," she said as they continued. "I'll hold you to it."

Naruto just nodded as they continued on their way. Tatenashi watched as the trees started to thin and moon light started to illuminate the area. They soon arrived at a clearing with a beautiful lake and waterfall. She watched in awe as the water danced in the moon light.

"This is amazing," Tatenashi said with wonder.

"I'm glad you like it," Naruto said leading her toward a small dock near the side of the lake. "This is my own little slice of heaven. I come here when I need to get away from everything or just want to relax and take a swim."

Tatenashi smiled when she heard the words swim. Slowly a plan formed in her mind and she turned toward Naruto. "So, shall we take a dip?" she said, much to Naruto's surprise.

"A dip?" Naruto said not liking where her line of thinking was headed.

"Yes a dip," Tatenashi stated once again. "I love to swim and the water looks wonderful. We can't just come here and do nothing."

Naruto tried to say something when Tatenashi put a finger against his lips. "Please," she said and pressed herself against him a bit.

Naruto tried to resist, but soon his will power failed him. "Damn pretty girls," he thought before slowly nodding.

"Yay" Tatenashi said and gave Naruto a big hug. Naruto blushed and hugged her back. They broke apart after a few moments and soon Tatenashi was undressing. Naruto quickly looked away and heard a splash. He turned and saw Tatenashi already in the water. "Come on slow poke, the water feels great."

Naruto just smiled and slowly undressed until he was only in his boxers. He headed to the beginning of the docks and slowly started to run toward the other end. He reached the edge and jumped off with all his might. Tatenashi watched as he flew through the air and landed in the water with a large splash.

Naruto quickly surfaced and was hit in the face by a splash of water. He turned and saw Tatenashi giving him a big smile before splashing him again. He smiled, dove under the splash, and tried to retaliate but Tatenashi had swum out if his range.

"Catch me if you can" Tatenashi called, and swam away from Naruto.

Naruto smiled and headed for Tatenashi at full speed. Soon a splash war was on. Every time Naruto would get close to Tatenashi she would splash him and swim away. Naruto smiled and dove deeper into the water. Tatenashi looked around and couldn't find Naruto. She moved with caution not wanting to be caught, when she suddenly felt something grab her and pull her under. She struggled as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She burst to the surface and was greeted by a smiling Naruto behind her.

"Caught you," he said with a smug smile.

"No fair," she said with a pout and Naruto laughed.

"You said I had to catch you," he said with a smile, "And that is what I did."

Tatenashi smiled. "That you did," she said, slowly turning around, and wrapping her arms around Naruto's neck. "Now it's time for your reward."

She leaned in and slowly captured Naruto lips. Naruto soon returned the kiss. They floated in the water, the moonlight illuminating their kiss. They soon broke the kiss and Naruto couldn't help but look at Tatenashi, the water dripping down her face. He leaned in and captured her lips once more.

-A while later-

Naruto entered the house alone. After the lake he had driven Tatenashi back to her place. They rode in silence but it was a welcomed silence. Tatenashi ended the night with another kiss. Now he was home and in a slight daze from the recent events. Kushina heard him come in and looked over at him. She saw his bewildered state and wondered what had happened.

"Naruto, are you ok?" she asked him. He nodded absentmindedly.

"Did you have fun with Tatenashi?" she said and again Naruto just nodded.

She sighed to herself and walked over to him. His father had gotten like this sometimes when they were dating and it seems as though it ran in the family. She only knew of one way to break the daze and proceeded to walk over to her son.

"Time to wake up," she said sweetly, and slapped him across the face.

Naruto opened his eyes wide and held his cheek. "What the hell!" he said as he came out of his stupor.

Kushina just smiled. "Oh good, you're back," she said. He gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean I'm back?" he asked her. "Also, why did you slap me?"

"I slapped you out of the Namikaze daze," she said. Naruto looked even more confused. "The Namikaze daze happens when a Namikaze man does something intimate with a girl he likes. They go into autopilot and the only known way to break, it is pain."

"So you had to slap me?" he grumbled. "You could have pinched me!"

"It wouldn't have worked," she said with certainty.

"How do you know?" he asked, and Kushina shook her head.

"Your father," was all she said and Naruto let the matter drop. Naruto sighed and sat on the couch. Kushina sat across from him and smiled. "So how did the rest of the night go. From the daze I can, surmise it went well?"

Naruto just smiled. "It was nice," he said.

-With Cecilia-

Cecilia stood on the porch of her home, bored out of her mind. It had been few weeks since the end of class and she had nothing to do. She had returned to England at the request of her government. They wanted to review the current combat data of the Blue Tears. As a result, she sat on the porch doing absolutely nothing.

"I wish Naruto was here," she said to herself as she looked out into her garden.

"Who's Naruto, and why do you wish he were here," a female voice said from behind Cecilia, making her jump a bit. She turned to see a girl with dark brown hair, green eyes, wearing a maid's outfit with a large belt strapped around her waist. This was Chelsea Blackett, Cecilia's maid and best friend. They had been together as far back as Cecilia could remember. She had stayed in England to look after the house while Cecilia was at school. Chelsea looked at her friend and repeated, "who's Naruto?"

Cecilia smiled. "Just someone from school," she said and headed back inside.

'Just someone from school,' Chelsea said with a hint of mocking in her voice. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Cecilia said quickly trying to think of a way to change the subject.

"Oh, that's too bad," Chelsea said with a sigh.

"What does that mean?" Cecilia said slowing turning.

"If he's just someone from school, then he means nothing to you," Chelsea said with a smile.

"How do you know it's a he?" Cecilia stated trying to throw off her maid.

Chelsea smiled. "I watch the news," she replied. "There are only two male pilots at your school and they are Ichika Orimura and Naruto Namikaze." Cecilia frowned.

"I mean, if he's just a classmate, you must be after Ichika, so can I have Naruto."

"YOU CAN'T HAVE MY NARUTO!" Cecilia shouted at the top of her lungs. Cecilia looked at her maid and saw that the cat was out of the bag.

"So he's your Naruto?" Chelsea said with a mischievous smile. "When did this happen?"

Cecilia was silent for a moment before explaining everything that had transpired over the last semester. Chelsea listened and took a few notes. "This is great," she thought to herself as she listened to Cecilia's story. "She's finally found a guy she likes; All she needs to do is bag him. First we need to get to him as soon as possible."

Cecilia stopped talking and Chelsea nodded. "So, shall I get the bags packed?" she asked Cecilia.

Cecilia looked at her in confusion. "Pack the bags?" she stated, "Why?"

"To visit Naruto, of course," Chelsea replied. Cecilia blushed.

"We cannot just barge in on him uninvited. It's not proper," Cecilia said.

Chelsea just stood up. "We're not going uninvited," she said, and started to leave the room. "We are taking the Blue Tears to Konoha Industries for an upgrade."

Cecilia looked at Chelsea in shock. "What? Really?"

"Yes really," Chelsea said with a grin. "Let's get going. We have places to go and boys to woo."

**This is chapter 11; this is the edited version (thanks, Jessica and fyi, the roast was fabulous), so ignore the mistakes till edited chapter is posted. I like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and really glad you are continuing to read and enjoy the story. I am really happy with the chapter but would love to get a lot of feedback on the battle scene. I really would love to see your opinions on it and what ways I can make it better. As far as the story goes Tatenashi is the current winner for Naruto affection but it will change soon. Who will show up and what craziness will happen. Will Naruto have to choose or will the decide to share… all this and more on the next episode of Dragon Ball….wait wrong ending loll. As always please read and review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto sat at his computer running several different simulations on the new power distribution of the Strike Freedom. He watched as the distribution was off in all the simulations. He sighed to himself as he ended the simulations.

"Why do you hate me?" Naruto asked the computer, "I put in the write equations and it still doesn't work."

No answer came and Naruto sighed again. He was about to start another batch of simulations when someone covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" said a familiar voice that made Naruto smile.

"Ok, this time it has to be the sexy ramen chef," he said jokingly.

"Oh so close," the voice said and the hands lifted from his eyes, "But I think it someone even better?"

Naruto turned and looked at Tatenashi, she was wearing her IS pilot's suit. She gave him a sultry smile and slowly straddled him. "You miss me?" she asked

Naruto just smiled, "Of course I did," He said and pulled her even closer.

Tatenashi leaned in close and captured Naruto lips. Naruto kissed her back and they soon had to break apart for air. Ever since the night at the lake they had started to get closer and closer.

"So Naruto, any plans for later?" Tatenashi asked.

"I have no idea," Naruto replied.

Tatenashi smiled. "Maybe we can go back to the lake and have some fun," she whispered into Naruto's ear, making him shiver.

Naruto was about capture Tatenashi lips, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" a voice shouted making Naruto and Tatenashi turn. Standing there was Cecilia.

-Flashback with Cecilia-

Cecilia and Chelsea stepped off their plane and waited for the car to come about. She was so excited to see Naruto. Chelsea watched her friend and couldn't help but smile.

"Someone exciting," Chelsea said with a giggle.

Cecilia gave her friend an evil look, "What are you talking about?" She said regaining her English composure.

Chelsea just shook her head, "Whatever you say," she replied and headed toward the car. Cecilia walked over to the car and got inside. Chelsea got inside as well on the driver side and headed toward Konoha Industries.

Cecilia sat in silence as they drove through the forest. She couldn't wait to reach Konoha Industries. She missed Naruto a lot and when she saw the sign for Konoha Industries, her heart started to flutter. Soon she would see Naruto and soon he will be hers. They pull into the complex and soon arrive at the main office. They quickly exited the car and headed inside. Cecilia looked around and couldn't marvel on how well everyone was working together. It was so different then the company that built her Blue Tears. They were always arguing on what to do and how to do it. Here everyone seems to be on the same page and everything was running smoothly.

Cecilia and Chelsea finally arrived at their destination, the Vice President of Konoha Industries office. A girl with short black hair sat at a desk outside the office and smiled at the pair.

"Hello my name is Shizune, how may I help you." Shizune said to the pair.

Cecilia smiled, "My name is Cecilia Alcott, I am here to discuss the upgrade of my IS with your company." She replied and Shizune nodded.

"Ah Ms. Alcott we have been expecting you," Shizune said, "Just head right in."

"Thank you," Cecilia said and entered the office with Chelsea close behind. The saw a woman who looked to be in her early to mid thirties, she has a diamond shape on her forehand, blue pants, a shirt vest, a green coat with the kanji for gamble in a red circle, brown eyes, blond hair with pigtails, and sandals with low heels.

She looked up at the pair, "Have a seat," the woman said. Cecilia and Chelsea sat down quickly. "Welcome to Konoha Industries, my name is Tsuande Senju."

Cecilia smile, "It's great to be here." She replied.

Tsunade nodded, "As you know, your government has hired our company to study and upgrade you IS, Blue Tears." She said, "You will be staying in the Konoha apartment complex for the duration of your stay." Cecilia nodded and Tsuande smiled, "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Cecilia blushed a bit as her first thought was to ask about Naruto. Tsuande noticed this but didn't comment. Chelsea watched her friend and sighed, "Do you know where we can find Naruto Namikaze?" Chelsea asked much to Cecilia shock.

Tsuande watched Cecilia reaction and smiled, "So you looking for the brat?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Why?"

Chelsea looked over at Cecilia and gave her arm a little nudge. Cecilia looked at her friend with an evil glare before turning back to face Tsuande. "We are friends at school." She said quickly.

Tsuande chuckle to herself, "Ok, he is in his lab, building three." She said.

Cecilia got up, "Thank you," she said and headed quickly out the door. Chelsea followed close behind. Tsuande watched them leave and couldn't help but chuckle.

"That boy is going to be in for a hell of a time," She said as she opened her secret stash of sake.

-With Cecilia and Chelsea-

Cecilia walked quickly through the complex a large smile on her face. After such a long time she would finally see her beloved. Chelsea watched Cecilia couldn't wait to see her big reunion with Naruto. They soon found building number three and Cecilia quickly opened the door and went inside. They found themselves in a large lab with several different IS parts all around.

The pair looked around and Naruto was nowhere in sight. They slowly walked through the lab and Cecilia noticed the remains of the Freedom. She stopped and walked over to the wreaked IS and couldn't help but feel sad. It was this wreaked IS that saved her life and the life of her friends. Now it was in pieces and never to be flown again.

Suddenly the sound of a girl's giggle caught Cecilia attention. She gave the Freedom one last glance, then turned and headed toward where she heard the voices. She quickly walked toward the center of the lab. As she turned the corner she saw Naruto sitting in his chair with the blue-haired bimbo straddling his laps. She watched as their lips were about to come together and she wouldn't have it.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Cecilia shouted at the top of her lungs.

-End of flashback-

Naruto and Tatenashi stared at Cecilia stunned. Naruto wasn't expecting to see Cecilia again till school got back. Yet here she was standing there in anger.

Tatenashi stared at Cecilia in annoyance. She finally had Naruto all to herself and now Cecilia had to show up and ruin her fun. Tatenashi slowly got up off Naruto, "Well, well, what brings Miss, England here?" she said sarcastically.

Cecilia glared at Tatenashi, "I am here to have my IS upgraded," she replied, "Why are you here?"

Tatenashi walked toward Cecilia and smiled, "I work here as one of the test pilots for the prototype IS they are building, "she said smugly.

Cecilia frowned at this. "Damn she had more time with him," She thought. "She has already made her move."

Tatenashi watched as Cecilia had her inner debate and shook her head. She turned and walked back to Naruto. "I see you later," she said to him and gave him a quick kiss. Cecilia watched this in anger and watched as Tatenashi left the lab. Naruto turned and saw Cecilia stomping toward him.

"I am so dead," he thought to himself as Cecilia stood over him.

She summoned her IS laser rifle, "die," she said as she aim her rifle. Naruto quickly dived out of his chair as Cecilia fired. He sprinted across the lab and didn't look back. He knew full well that Cecilia was not fair behind ready to burn him to a crisp.

Naruto burst out of his lab and ran across the complex, "Why me?" Naruto cried as he ran. He dodged another blast. He turned a corner as another laser blast flew over his head. Everyone watched as Naruto ran for his life. Many felt a little sorry for the boy but most just laughed.

Tsuande watched from her window as she watched her grandson run from Cecilia. She couldn't stop laughing and was recording the entire incident. Shizune walked in and watched as her adopted mother laughed at the misfortune of her little brother.

"Tsuande, it not that funny," Shizune said as she set down some files on Tsuande's desk.

Tsuande looked at Shizune and smiled, "Yes it is," she replied.

Shizune just shook her head, went to her desk. Tsuande pulled out a bottle of Sake and watched as Naruto ran for dear life.

-A few days later-

Naruto sat in the main lab a few days after the rifle incident. He had been able to dodge all of the blast from Cecilia and came out of the incident unharmed. Unfortunately Cecilia was still furious and he had yet to talk to her. She wouldn't speak to him no matter how hard he tried.

Naruto sighed to himself as he waited for his mother to come to the lab. She had called him from his lab to help with a IS upgrade. So he headed to the main lab and waited. Soon his mother came into view.

She walked toward a large holo screen and waited for everyone to take their seats. She waved Naruto over to her and pointed to a seat next to her. Naruto just nodded and got up. He took the seat that his mother indicated and waited for her to start her presentation.

Soon everyone was quiet and Kushina stood up, "Good morning every." She said with a smile, "I called you all here today for a very exciting moment in our company's history." She paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "We have been contracted to study and upgrade one of England's most prized personal units, Blue Tears"

Soon the spec for the Blue Tears appeared on the Holoscreen above Kushina. She let the staff study the specs for a few minutes. Many were impressed with the IS and couldn't wait to get their hands on it. Kushina smiled and looked toward Naruto, he was also looking over the specs. He had his holopad out and he was quickly writing things down.

Kushina turned to face the crowd again turned to face the crowd, "Now as you can see the Blue Tears is a very well built 3rd generation IS. It specs are top of the line. I know we can make it even better." Soon a cheer was heard from the crowd and Kushina smiled.

She waited for the crowd to stop cheering, "Since this is such an important project for our company I will have my son Naruto leading the team." She watched as many of the employees seemed to agree with her choice. Naruto on the other had been quite surprised by this. "Thank you all for coming and let's continue to lead in IS innovations!"

A loud cheer filled the main lab. Kushina just smiled and left the stage. She signaled for Naruto to follow her as she walked back toward her office. She sat down at her desk as Naruto closed the door behind him.

"What do you mean I'm in charge of the Blue Tears upgrade?" he yelled in anger.

Kushina just gave her son a smile, "Exactly what it means." She said making Naruto frown in anger.

"I don't have the time to work on the Blue Tear," he stated as he sat down on the couch in the corner, "I have to finish the Strike Freedom."

Kushina just shook her head, "You have to do it," she replied, "You have prior experience with the IS and also you were requested by the pilot."

Naruto sighed, "Fine,"

Kushina just smiled, "Come on you know you want to do the upgrades," she said, "I saw you already working on a few during the presentation."

Naruto just nodded, "Can't get anything pasted you." He said as he pulled out his holopad. "I already have seen the inner working of the Blue Tears so I already have a pretty good idea on what I want to do."

Kushina just nodded, "Good now get going," she said. "You have a IS to upgrade." Naruto gave his mother a mock salute and left the office. Kushina just laughed as she watched her son leave.

-A few days later-

Naruto and few of the techs were currently working on the Blue Tears. Naruto had been working non-stop on the upgrades and was quiet happy for the distraction from the Strike Freedom. He had already decided to upgrade the targeting system of the Blue Tears. The current system had a 6% error of correction. To many others that was a great percentage but to Naruto it was still too high. He already had a new program ready but it only had a 5% error of correction. Naruto wanted to get it down to 3% but that was proving to be quite a challenge.

Naruto sighed as he looked over the program and shook his head. He closed the program and looked toward the Blue Tears. He looked over the bits and the program that controlled them and sighed. The program was utter crap; it made the user stay in place while the bits are away from the machine. This made the user a sitting duck if he/she was facing multiple opponents. So Naruto was removing this program for Blue Tears. He had a new program ready to install called Dragoon. It allowed for the bits to move on their own with little input from the pilot.

He watched as Dragoon loaded into Blue Tears, "Well that take care of one problem." He said to himself as he looked over Blue Tears.

"That good," A voice said from behind him and he turned and saw Cecilia.

"Cecilia," Naruto replied the surprise evident in his voice "What brings you here?"

Cecilia just smiled, "Can't I come and check on my own IS?" she asked him and Naruto just chuckled.

"No you can," Naruto replied, "Just warn me next time."

Cecilia walked around Blue Tears, "I remember that for next time." She stated as she walked over to Naruto. She looked at what he was working.

Naruto looked over at Cecilia and couldn't help but notice her beauty. He watched as she looked over the list of upgrade he was planning and smiled. "Like what you see?" he asked her.

Cecilia nodded, "Yes I am," she said as she turned to face Naruto. "Do you mind if I help out again?"

Naruto smiled, "Of course you can help." He replied, glad he was able to speak to Cecilia again.

Cecilia smiled at Naruto, "Shall we get started then?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Naruto replied. Naruto pulled up some of the new weapon systems he wanted to install to the Blue Tears. "What do you think of these?" He wanted to install an entire new weapon system that ran it time with the bits and allowed Cecilia to change weapons on the fly. Her current weapon system did not allow for any variation of armament.

Cecilia looked over the spec and saw that the new system relied on many different type of bits. The new system would be equipped with ten Holster/Shield Bits, Missiles, and ten pistol/rifle bits. This new system would be held in her wings allowing her to deploy all her bits in quick succession. She watched the simulation and the different configurations that could be used with this new weapon set up.

"Wow!" Cecilia exclaimed. "This is amazing."

"Glad you like it," Naruto replied with a smile. "We are going to have to take off your old wing configuration as well as your current armaments, before we install the new weapons."

Cecilia nodded and rolled up her sleeves, "Shall we get started?" she asked as she walked toward Blue Tears.

Naruto just nodded and grabbed his tools. He walked over to the Blue Tears and quickly showed Cecilia how to disconnect the wings. Soon the pair had disconnected the wings and started to work on the rifle and bits. They worked in silence and soon the all the weapons and bits were disconnected from the IS.

Naruto looked up at Cecilia as she tried to take the last bolt. She struggled as the bolt wouldn't bug. He couldn't help but chuckle as she struggled. He finished disconnecting his bit and walked over to help Cecilia. He came up behind her and grabbed her hand. Cecilia squeaked in surprise as she felt Naruto behind her. He helped her turn the stubborn bolt and soon the last bit fell away from Blue Tears. She felt as Naruto hand slowly feels away from hers.

Cecilia slowly turned, faces Naruto, and looked into his eyes. She couldn't help but get lost in his eyes. This was the man who had captured her heart.

"Cecilia?" Naruto said pulling Cecilia out of her mind.

"Huh?" she replied, making Naruto laugh.

"You ok?" he asked her.

Cecilia blushed, "Yes," she quickly replied and Naruto just nodded.

Naruto backed away from Cecilia and stretched. "I think we should call it a night."

Naruto lead her out of the lab and turned out the lights. They headed out into the night air and Cecilia shivers as the cold wind hit her. She soon felt something cover he shoulder and turned to see Naruto putting his jacket around her shoulders.

"Better?" Naruto asked as Cecilia blushed.

"Much better," Cecilia replied and Naruto smiled.

"That's good." he said as they walked. "How about I give you a ride back to your place?"

"I would like that." Cecilia stated and Naruto lead her to his car. He opened the side door for Cecilia and watched as she got into the car. Naruto went to the drive side and got in. He started the car and they drove out of the complex toward town.

They drove in silence for awhile and this made Naruto very nervous. He looked over at Cecilia and saw that she had wrapped herself in his jacket. "Hey Cecilia," he said.

"Yes Naruto?" she replied wondering what he wanted.

"Would you like to hangout for a bit before I take you back to your place?" Naruto asked a faint blush spread across his face.

Cecilia smiled, "I would love too." She replied with excitement.

Naruto grinned, "So anywhere in particular you would like to go?" he asked.

Cecilia stomach growled, "Let's go eat," she said

Naruto nodded and they quickly drove through town until Naruto stopped outside a small open-air ramen stand. Naruto got out of the car and quickly held Cecilia out of the car as well. They walked into the stand and sat down.

The waitress came over and gave the pair a smile. "Welcome to Ichiruku Ramen, my name is Ayame what can I get for you today?" Ayame said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back, "Ayame nice to see you." He said.

Ayame quickly went around the counter and gave Naruto a hug, "It's great to see you Naruto." She said. "It been too long."

Naruto put his hand behind his head, "Well I've been at school." he replied.

"I know that," Ayame replied. She looked over and saw Cecilia. "Naruto are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Naruto gave Ayame a sheepish smile. "This is Cecilia," he replied and Cecilia blushed.

Ayame nodded, "So finally decided to bring your girlfriend to visit little old me." Ayame said framing tears.

Naruto and Cecilia blushed, "She…." Naruto began to explain but Cecilia stopped him.

"Naruto is sorry for not bringing me sooner," Cecilia said as Naruto watched on, "He has been helping me upgrade my IS."

Ayame smiled, "Well now that's good." She said as she headed back behind the counter. "I thought he would be single forever."

Cecilia just giggled, "Well I here to make sure that doesn't happen." She replied. "So how long have you known Naruto?"

Ayame smiled, "I known Naruto since he was little." Ayame replied with a smile. "His mother brought him here often. He was so cute back then, I would always hugging him. He like a little brother to me."

Cecilia nodded, while she sighed in relief to herself. She was glad that Ayame was a friend and not another rival for Naruto affect. Cecilia already had enough of those.

Naruto soon came out of his shock and watched as Ayame and Cecilia talked. They seemed to get along well and couldn't help but smile. He was a bit shocked that Cecilia had stopped him from correcting Ayame and this made Naruto blush.

He watched Cecilia and sighed, "Why do these girls make me feel this way?" he thought to himself. He was pulled out of her thoughts when he heard his name being called. He turned and saw Cecilia and Ayame looking at him. He gave them a sheepish smile.

Ayame shook her head, "Let me get your ramen." She said and headed into the back.

Naruto and Cecilia sat in silence. Naruto was about to say something, when Cecilia leaned against him. Naruto was startled at first but soon settled. They sat there and waited for their food. Ayame soon returned and the pair ate. Cecilia continued to talk with Ayame. Ayame told her funny stories about Naruto when he was little. Cecilia watched and giggled as Naruto tried to stop Ayame but he always failed.

Soon their meal was finished and the pair bid Ayame a farewell. They drove toward the apartments in silence. Naruto wanted to try and get answers out of Cecilia but no words came to him. Cecilia was just content with the silence. She looked over at Naruto and couldn't help but smile.

The pulled into the apartment parking lots, they got out of the car. Naruto walked Cecilia to the front of the building and Cecilia tried to find her keys. She was deliberate taking her time so she could spend a little more time with Naruto.

Naruto watched her fumble for her keys, "Having trouble." He asked.

Cecilia nodded, "They don't want to be found." She said.

Naruto nodded, "I glad I got to spend time with you today." He said. "It was nice to hang out."

Cecilia smiled. "Yes it was." She said as she found her keys. She just held them in her bag.

"I missed you." Naruto said. This made Cecilia heart pound in her chest.

"I missed you as well." Cecilia replied.

Naruto nodded. "Well good night." He said and turned to head to his car.

Cecilia watched him go, "Wait," she called and Naruto stopped. He turned and watched as Cecilia walked toward him. "I forgot to give you something." Cecilia leaned into Naruto and kissed him. Naruto soon kissed her back. The stars shined on the pair as they slowly broke apart.

"Good night." Cecilia said and headed inside leaving a stupefied Naruto.

-With Cecilia-

Cecilia closed the door behind her and sighed as she smiled. She had kissed Naruto and it had felt great. It was better then she imagined and couldn't wait to do it again. She slowly walked toward the elevator when she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She turned as saw Tatenashi standing before her a smile on her face.

"Enjoy your day?" Tatenashi asked.

Cecilia looked at the older girl, "Yes I did." She replied a bit of anger in her voice.

Tatenashi titled her head to the side, "So I saw that you kissed Naruto." She stated. "How was it?"

Cecilia gave Tatenashi an annoyed glare. "It doesn't concern you." Cecilia replied.

Tatenashi just smiled, "I was just asking a question." She replied. "I was wondering if you felt as you were in heaven as you kissed him. I know I did."

Cecilia started to shake in anger. This hussy had the gale to kiss her Naruto and wave it in her face. "I challenge you!" Cecilia said.

Tatenashi looked at Cecilia in surprise. "You challenge me?" she asked a bit shocked.  
>"What for?"<p>

"For Naruto's heart." Cecilia stated. "If I win you will stay away from him."

Tatenashi nodded, "Fine, I accept your challenge." She said and started to walk away from Cecilia. "I tell you what I want after I win."

Cecilia watched as Tatenashi disappeared into the elevator. She swore to herself that she would defeat her and take Naruto for herself.

-The next day-

Cecilia waited in the IS prep area for Tatenashi to appear. She had awoke that morning to find a message from Tatenashi telling her to meet her at the IS prep area. So Cecilia stood with Chelsea waiting for her opponent.

Chelsea looked at her friend and sighed, "Are you sure this was a good idea?" she asked.

"Of course it is," Cecilia stated. "I have to show Tatenashi I am the one for Naruto."

Chelsea just nodded, "Ok but how are you going to do this without an IS."

Cecilia slowly start to pale. "I forgot about that." She stated and Chelsea sighed.

"That not a problem." A voice said from behind the pair.

Standing behind the pair was Tatenashi and Kushina. Cecilia paled once again at the sight of Kushina.

"Tatenashi told me of you wanted to have an IS battle." Kushina said with a smile. "I think that's a great idea. You can use one of our prototypes IS. You will both be flying the Flag."

"Were both flying the same IS?" Cecilia asked a bit surprised.

Kushina nodded. "Yes you are, this will allow us to get twice the data for the IS. Now you're IS is blue one."

Cecilia nodded and saw the IS. She noticed a red flag on the other side of the room. She watched as Tatenashi head toward the Red Flag and smiled.

"I'll show her." Cecilia thought and mounted her IS.

Kushina smiled and headed toward the main viewing area. "These is going to be exciting." She thought to herself.

Cecilia was the first to enter the IS arena. She checked all the Flag's systems and couldn't help but marvel at the design on the IS. Its armor was very streamline and had a very advance thruster system. She saw a flash of red and turned to face Tatenashi.

"I will win."Cecilia said to Tatenashi.

Tatenashi just smiled, "Good luck." She replied much to Cecilia ire.

The start bell sounded and Cecilia charged forward. She lifted her rifle and fire a few beams at Tatenashi. Tatenashi held up her arm and used the defense bar to block the attacks.

"You got to do better than that." Tatenashi called at Cecilia.

Cecilia growled in anger, brought out her sonic blade and charged forward. She lifted the blade over her head and brought it down toward Tatenashi head. Tatenashi blocked the attack with the defense bar and fired her 20mm machine guns to push Cecilia back.

Cecilia watched as her shield energy dropped from 600 to 595. She lifted her rifle once again and fired another round of beams at Tatenashi. Tatenashi simply dodged the attack and smiled.

"Is that it?" Tatenashi asked Cecilia. "I thought you were going to defeat me."

"I WILL!" Cecilia shouted and charged forward. She brought her sonic blade toward Tatenashi side. Tatenahi blocked with the defense rod again and pushed Cecilia back with her machine guns. Cecilia frowned as she watched her shield drop from 595 to 590.

Cecilia flew back and observed Tatenashi. She noticed that Tatenashi never attack and simply reacted to her movements. Cecilia decided to try a long range bombardment and flew back. She aimed her rifle and started to lay down a barrage of beam fire. She watched as Tatenashi dodged and block the attacks but no counter attack came.

Cecilia continued her barraged started to move toward Tatenashi as she fired. She watched as Tatenashi continued to dodge and block. She smiled. "I can do this." She said to herself as she flew forward, still firing.

Cecilia soon found herself in a good position to get inside Tatenashi guard. She fired ten beams at Tatenashi in quick succession. Tatenashi blocked the attacks per usual. Cecilia pushed her thruster to maximum and shot toward Tatenashi. She brought out her sonic blade and brought it down in a downward strike.

Tatenashi failed to block the attack and watched her shields drop from 600 to 570. Cecilia looked at her opponent and smiled. "Take that." She stated with a smile.

Tatenashi just smiled. "Good job," she replied much to Cecilia's surprise. "You finally manage to land a hit. I thought I would have to keep defending forever."

Cecilia frowned, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Oh I simply decided to defend until you land one good hit." Tatenashi stated as she lifted her rifle. "Now since you landed a hit it my turn to attack."

Cecilia barely had time to dodge the beam fire. Her eyes widen as she saw Tatenashi charging forward. Tatenashi had her rifle leveled at Cecilia and fired beam after beam. Cecilia dodged the attacks and returned fired.

Tatenashi dodged her attack and fired another barrage of beams at Cecilia. Cecilia dodged but suddenly felt the bite of a blade against her side. Cecilia eyes widen once again as she saw Tatenashi beside her, blade drawn. Cecilia shield dropped for 590 to 540.

"Damn," Cecilia thought and flew back away from Tatenashi but she was forced to dodge beam fire once again. Cecilia tried to counter attack but Tatenashi's attacks were coming too fast for her to counter.

Soon Cecilia was hit by the barrage of beams and watched her shield drop from 540 to 470. Cecilia tried to regroup but Tatenashi was upon her once again.

Cecilia blocked the beam fire with her defense rod only to barely dodge a swipe from Tatenashi blade. Cecilia drew her own blade and parried Tatenashi's attack.

"I need to get some distance," Cecilia told herself. She wasn't the best at close combat and preferred to attack at long range. She tried to fly back but Tatenashi charged forward. Cecilia fired her machine guns and stopped Tatenashi charge.

Tatenashi smiled, "Very good," she said. "But that won't be enough to save you."

Cecilia lifted her rifle, "I will win," she stated and fired. Tatenashi blocked with her defense rod and returned fire. Cecilia blocked the attack with her defense rod. Tatenashi flew forward and fired beam after beam.

Cecilia blocked the attacks and charge forward as well. She fired three beams at Tatenashi then drew her blade. Tatenashi dodged the beam fire and pulled out her blade as well. Soon their blade clashed and the pair pushed apart. Cecilia didn't lift her defense bar in time as Tatenashi fired beams at her.

Cecilia frowned as her shields dropped to 440. "I have to win." She said and charged forward. Tatenashi smiled and charged forward as well. Cecilia tried to strike Tatenashi's side with her blade. Tatenashi blocked with her blade and brought her defense bar down onto Cecilia shoulder. The spinning bar slammed into Cecilia shields dropping them to 370.

Cecilia flew back and fired a few beams at Tatenashi. Tatenashi dodged and returned fire. Cecilia blocked the attack. "This is bad." She thought as she blocked Tatenashi attack.

Tatenashi smiled. "Well it been fun," she said much to Cecilia surprise. "but it time to end it."

Cecilia frowned, "End it," she called, "I still have plenty of shields."

Tatenashi didn't reply and charged forward. Cecilia lifted her rifle and fire a barrage of beams. Tatenashi gracefully dodged every beam as she pushed her thruster to maximum. Cecilia tried to stop Tatenashi but to no avil. Tatenashi brought het blade out and struck Cecilia's side.

Tatenashi struck fast and Cecilia soon found herself unable to dodge any of Tatenashi attack. Tatenashi would quickly turn after each strike allowing Cecilia not chance to recover. Soon Cecilia shields fell to 0 and her IS shut down.

**That is chapter 12 focks, unedited so sorry for the errors you may find. Sorry it has taken me awhile to get this up and running but life has been getting to me. I really am happy with this chapter and hope you all like it. As for my other stories they will be updated soon, (I hope) so fear not all my stories shall continue. As for this chapter please tell me what you think of it and what parts you like the most. I want to thank everyone who has review so far and a future thanks to the new reviews. I really am happy for all your support and I hope to continue to write stories that people love to read. As always please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

Cecilia sat down in the IS locker area, still in IS gear. She didn't want to leave and face Tatenashi. She feared what Tatenashi was going to do, because of her win. She guessed that she would never be able to pursue Naruto.

"Cecilia, you in here?" Tatenashi's voice called through the locker room.

Cecilia stayed silent, hoping to go unnoticed. Unfortunately, lady luck was not on her side today.

"There you are," Tatenashi stated as she walked toward Cecilia. "I have been looking all over for you."

Cecilia just nodded. "Sure you were," she replied, the sadness evident in her voice.

"Of course I was, silly," Tatenashi replied happily. "I've come to tell you what I want, since I won."

"I thought so," Cecilia replied. "Am I supposed to stay away from Naruto from now on?"

Tatenashi looked at Cecilia for a few moments before bursting into laughter. Cecilia watched as the blue-haired girl rolled on the floor, unable to control herself. .

"What's so funny?" Cecilia asked, a bit peeved.

It took a few moments for Cecilia to stop laughing. "I'm sorry, but what you said was soo funny," Tatenashi replied as she took a seat next to Cecilia.

"Why is it so funny?" Cecilia grumbled.

"Because, you think I'm going to make you stop seeing Naruto," Tatenashi replied with a smile.

Cecilia looked at Tatenashi in shock. She was still allowed to see Naruto but she knew there was going to be a price. "What's the catch?" she asked.

"Catch? There's no catch," Tatenashi replied. "I just wanted to tell you that since I won the fight we have to share Naruto."

"Share, Naruto?" Cecilia stated in surprise.

"Yeah," Tatenashi stated with a smile. "I feel it would be more fun if we did. We both can have Naruto and don't have to worry about fighting over him. Also, it doubles our chances of teasing him."

Cecilia watched in awe as the older girl walked away. She sighed in relief, knowing that she could be with Naruto. She simply had to get use to sharing him.

Cecilia slowly got up. "I can share," she said to herself as she headed toward the showers.

-With Naruto-

Naruto smiled as he looked over the Blue Tears upgrades and redesign. It had taken him awhile to get everything in its proper place and still be able to run at full capacity. The only problem was that the Blue Tears core was unable to power all of the upgrades. It was able to run the new bits system, but it failed to link the bits to the new targeting system. The Blue Tears need a secondary or completely new power source that allowed all the system to function.

"I could add another core," Naruto momentarily thought to himself. Duel core IS had been tried before, but it never ended well. Both cores would cancel each other, not allowing the IS to move, or even function.

"What can I use?" Naruto asked again. Suddenly he heard the sound of something falling, causing him to turn quickly. Kyuubi had knocked down a few tools, near one of the GN drives.

Naruto looked over the GN drive and soon his mind was going about a mile a minute. He could use the GN drive to help with the power flow. The GN drive could power the weapons and targeting systems, while the IS core powered the shields and other essential systems. He started to modify the design and system algorithms to incorporate the GN drive into the design. He placed the GN drive in the back area of the IS and changed the placement of the wings a bit. Soon the calculations were done. Naruto smiled as the two power sources seem to work in perfect harmony.

He quickly pulled up the schematic of the GN drive and quickly ordered all of the parts he needed to start building the drive. He then moved toward finishing the fabrication on the bits and wings. He quickly entered in the data and sent it off to fabrication on the other side of the complex.

Naruto was about to start working on the power links between the two power sources when his phone went off. Naruto searched for it and quickly picked it up.

"Naruto here," he said brightly.

"Oh Naruto." Tatenashi voice said, with her usual sultry tone. "Can you come find me?"

Naruto just shook his head. "Taten, I'm kind of busy," he replied. "Can I find you later?"

"Sorry, but no," Tatenashi stated. "You need to find Cecilia and me or you might miss out of some fun."

Naruto started to blush. "What type of fun?" he asked.

Tatenashi was silent for a few moments. "You will have to find us, to find out," she replied sexily.

Naruto gulped. "Where are you?" he asked. Tatenashi laughed.

"That's for us to know and you to find out," she sang and hung up the phone. Soon his phone vibrated again, revealing a text. He opened it and saw that it was from Cecilia.

"You can start looking in the front," it said. He saved all of his work and headed out of the lab, toward the front building of the complex. He looked around and saw nothing.

"I am at the front," he said to himself as he looked. "Am I in the wrong place?"

He continued his search, when he saw a holopad sitting on the steps. It flashed the words "READ ME", over and over again. Naruto quickly walked over and picked it up. He touched the screen and watched as the next clue appeared.

"From the front head to the side, only Freedom can set you free." It stated.

Naruto just smiled and headed toward his lab. He walked toward the Freedom and found a piece of paper with another clue.

"We reside deep in a place where water is abound," the clue stated.

Naruto had to read it over a few times before he got an idea of where they were. He quickly headed toward the tree line and followed the path to the lake. He walked into the clearing and saw Tatenashi and Cecilia. They both had smiles on their faces. Both were in their swimsuits and Cecilia held a large basket in her hands.

"I glad you found us," Tatenashi responded sweetly. "Were we getting lonely."

Cecilia set down the basket, walked over and wrapped her arms around Naruto. "I was soo lonely without you," she whispered into his ear in a sultry voice.

Naruto froze as Cecilia pressed herself against him. He mind slowly started to shut down.

Cecilia began to notice this. "Now Naruto, I need you here with me," she stated as she broke apart from the blond.

Naruto's mind quickly rebooted. "Sorry," he stated and the girls laughed.

Tatenashi walked over and grabbed his arm. "Now let's party," she said, dragging Naruto toward the lake. Cecilia followed close behind, a slight frown on her face. She walked over and grabbed Naruto's other arm and smiled at him. Naruto looked between the pair and smiled.

"So anything big planned?" he asked.

Cecilia smiled. "You will have to wait and see won't you," she said with a sly smile.

Naruto shivered as he allowed the girls to pull him along. He had to admit he was looking forward to whatever was to come.

-With Chifuyu-

Chifuyu woke up and let out a sigh. She had been working most of the summer from home and she was tired. She was also tired of watching her idiot brother and his "friends" hang out in her home.

She sighed to herself as she walked into the kitchen. "What should I do today?" she thought to herself as she rummaged through the fridge for a can of beer. She finally found what she was looking for when she felt her phone go off.

She quickly touched the ear piece to answer the call. "Chifuyu Orimura, speaking," she stated, opening her beer.

"Hi Chifuyu, its Kushina Namikaze. How are you today?" Kushina greeted.

Chifuyu took a swig of her beer. "Hello , I am doing well, " she replied as she sat down. "So, what can I do for you today?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could come to Konoha Industries and help test some of our new IS prototypes," she asked.

"Mrs. Namikaze, you know I don't pilot IS anymore," Chifuyu stated. "I just teach others how to use it?"  
>"I know," Kushina replied. "But, I want the best testing for us. What can I do to get you to come and test the prototypes for us?"<p>

"Build me a IS that fits me like a glove," Chifuyu joked.

"We can do that," Kushina replied quickly. "I will have my researchers start on it right away. I'll have some designs sent over by the end of the week. Have a good day and I look forward to seeing you here soon."

Kushina hung up quickly not letting Chifuyu say anything. Chifuyu sat in her chair stunned, her beer falling to the floor. She sighed to herself and picked up the can.

Chifuyu drank the rest of the beer. "Ichika, get in here and clean up this mess," she shouted as she headed back to her room. Once in her room, turned on her laptop, pulling up all the information on Konoha Industries latest IS designs she could find.

-With Kushina-

Kushina walked quickly to the design room and gathered all of her best designers.

"Ok guys, we have been issued a challenge that I want met as soon as possible," she announced with glee. "We have been challenged to create an IS that would be used by the one and only, Chifuyu Orimura."

Everyone gasped in surprised and started to talk in excitement. Kushina let them talk amongst themselves for a few moments before taking back control.

"Ok everyone, I want you all to have at least a few designs ready by the end of the week," she ordered. "I know it's a tall order, but I know we can do it." Everyone nodded and set to work

-A few days later-

Kushina looked over all the designs that had been submitted to her so far, and sighed in disappointment. The designs were all very-well made but, didn't seem to fit Chifuyu at all. They would make great mass production models or someone else's personal IS, but they didn't work for Chifuyu. She sat at the head of the table staring at the designers.

"I commend you all on creating these designs as fast as you have, but they will not work for our client," she lamented. "So far, the best designs we have are the Dual, Buster, and Blitz, all based on the Strike's frame. They are the best designs we have and will be the ones we will submit to Chifuyu."

Kushina rose and headed toward her office. She sighed and looked down at the flash drive filled with the design plans. She knew Chifutu wouldn't like them, but this was the best she had. She entered her office and saw Naruto sitting on her couch, reading over some files.

"Hi mom," he said with a smile. "I have the updates on the Blue Tears design you wanted."

Kushina smiled. "Thank you, Naruto," she said as she sat at her desk.

Naruto quickly sent Kushina a link to the Blue Tears new designs and upgrades. Kushina looked over the design and was surprised that Naruto was installing a GN drive.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to put a GN drive on the Blue Tears?" Kushina asked.

Naruto nodded. "None of the new upgrades will work without it," he explained. "I tried to make it work, but this is the only way. Also, having a GN drive will ensure that the Blue Tears has to come here for repair and adjustments."

Kushina nodded. "That's good thinking," she replied. "Make them have to come back to us to make their IS repairs."

Naruto smiled. "I try."

Kushina just nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, yes you do," she stated as she closed the Blue Tears design. She looked down at the flash drive sitting on her desk and threw it to Naruto.

"We have a specific Client who wants their own personal IS," Kushina stated as she watched Naruto load the drive. "Tell me what you think of the designs we have so far?"

Naruto was silent for a moment as he looked them over. "Overall, they work out very well," he stated. "Who's the client, if I may ask?"  
>"Chifuyu Orimura," Kushina replied.<p>

Naruto looked at his mother, his mouth agape. "You made these, for Chifuyu? They are great, but they won't work. She's not one for stealth, or long range. Only the Duel would be something she would like, but it's still not enough."

Kushina nodded. "You spotted it as well. I have to send her the designs today and these are the best we have."

"I might have one that would work," Naruto stated, much to Kushina's surpise. "I made it as a partner to the Freedom. I think she would like it. Let me send you the specs."

Kushina quickly opened the file and read over the information. As she read, her face brightened.

"I think this one will work," she stated.

Naruto nodded. "Well, you're welcome to send it," he replied, rising. "I need to get back to work. The Freedom and the Blue Tears won't finish themselves."

Kushina watched as Naruto left the room and added the Infinite Justice design to the folder being sent to Chifuyu. She finalized the designs and locked the folder so that the information would be for Chifuyu's eyes only.

-With Chifuyu-

Chifuyu walked into her room, wrapped in a towel. She had spent the last couple of days relaxing and doing nothing productive. She had to admit to herself that she was looking forward to seeing the IS design from Konoha Industries. Many IS companies in the past had tried to make her an IS but they all had failed to live up to her standards. She had seen a few designs from Konoha and she had to admit, they were very well made.

Suddenly her computer screen flashed and she saw that the designs from Konoha had arrived. She quickly sat down at her computer and opened the files. She slowly looked over each design with practiced precision. The first design, the Duel was a good machine that had decent specs, but it didn't have the speed she wanted. Next was the Buster. It was a long-range machine that did not fit her style of fighting. After that was the Blitz, which was an overall simple machine that had one key feature, mirage callode, which allowed it to spread light reflecting particles around the IS and turn it invisible to everyone.

Chifuyu had to admit that the designs were amazing in their own right, but they didn't fit her at all. She saw the last design and opened the file. She quickly read the name of the machine.

"Infinite Justice," she read aloud as she looked over the specs. It was equipped with MA-02G "Super Lacerta" beam saber, MA-M1911 high-engery beam rifle, MMI-GAU26 17.5mm CIWS, MMI-M9L 14mm duel machine guns, MR-Q15A "Giffon" beam blades, and a MX2002 Beam Carry Shield. Another unique feature of the Justice, is the Fatum-01 Backpack/Sub-Flight Pack. It was a unique part of the IS that could work independently from the IS and use the weapons mounted on it to attack an enemy from two sides. Over all, it was the IS that fit her the most. It didn't have the same one hit kill as her old IS did but it did have a lot of power.

Chifuyu sighed. They had done it. They had created an IS that suited her perfectly. Suddenly her video phone sounded on her computer. She quickly answered it and smiling at her was Kushina Namikaze.

"Hello, Chifuyu," Kushina greeted.

"Hello, ," Chifuyu replied. "How are you today?"

"I am doing fine," Kushina replied a smile spreading across her face. "I just want to hear what you think of the IS designs I sent to you."

"The designs are great," Chifuyu stated. "They are very well made but most don't fit me at all."

Kushina nodded, a small frown on her face. "Ok, that's good to know."

"Yes, but, there is one that I do like," Chifuyu added and watched as Kushina's face brightened.

"Which one?" Kushina asked quickly.

"The Infinite Justice," Chifuyu responded.

Kushina smiled. "I knew it. So, you're coming to test our IS now, correct?"  
>Chifuyu sighed and nodded. "Yes, you have met my demands so I must honor my part of the agreement."<p>

Kushina nodded. "That's good. I'll see you in a week."

Chifuyu watched as Kushina hung up. "Guess I have to start packing." She sighed to herself as she went to change.

-With Kushina-

Kushina waited 'til she ended the call before jumping up in the air in excitement. They were going to get Chifuyu Orimura to test their prototype, as well as build her a personal IS. Kushina jumped on the phone soon after. She wanted to make sure that she had the IS core needed for The Justice, as soon as possible.

-A week later-

Chifuyu stepped off the plane and headed out of the airport. She had spent the past week making sure that Ichika was going to be ok alone while she was gone, and now was on her way to Konoha Industries. She stepped outside of the airport and saw a sign with her name on it. She walked over and saw Kushina standing there.

"Hello Chifuyu," Kushina said, with a smile on her face. "Welcome to Konoha."

Chifuyu gave Kushina a small nod. "Glad to be here," she replied as Kushina opened the trunk. The pair loaded Chifuyu's luggage into the car and headed off. They made small talk as they drove and soon the Konoha Industries sign came into view. They headed into the main office area and Kushina lead Chifuyu into a large conference room.

Chifuyu saw a lot of different people but three stood out to her. First was a very busty blonde woman, Tsuande Senju, the Vice-President of the company. Next was a man with long white hair writing in a small notebook, Jiraiya was head of IS research and writed of the Icha Icha series. Lastly was a face she knew well. It was Naruto. He gave her a smile as he watched the pair walk in the room.

Kushina smiled at everyone and stood at the head of the table. "Good morning everyone," she began. "I am pleased to announce that we have Chifuyu Orimura here with us. She will be testing our new prototype IS. Also, we will be building a personal IS for her." Everyone in the room brightened as they heard the news. "She will be staying with me and Naruto, in our home while she's here. I expect everyone to treat her like family."

Everyone nodded and slowly started to file out of the room except for Naruto, Jiraya and Tsunade. Naruto walked up to the front with a smile on his face.

"Nice to see you again, Chifuyu," he said.

"Nice to see you as well," Chifuyu replied. "How have you been?"

Naruto sighed. "Busy, that's for sure. Building the new Freedom, as well as upgrading the Blue Tears, has taken a lot of my time."

"Really, that is interesting," Chifuyu stated.

Tsunade walked over. "Stop complaining, brat," she stated and hit Naruto on the back of the head. "If you stopped playing with those girls all the time, you would be done by now."

"I am not playing with anyone!" Naruto shouted back, a small blush on his face.

"Sure you're not," Tsuande repeated. "You work for three hours and go out with those girls for the rest of the day. You're not playing at all."

Naruto glared at Tsuande. "You suck Baa-chan."

Tsuande tried to punch Naruto but he ducked, only to be kneed in the face. "What have I told you about calling me that?" Tsuande shouted, while Naruto lay dazed on the floor.

Jiraya looked at Naruto and sighed. "You can be such an idiot sometimes, boy."

Naruto got up off the floor. "Shut it, Ero-sennin."

"Chifuyu watched as this scene unfolded and let a small, nearly unnoticeable smile grace her face. It was nice to see Naruto with his family and his interaction with them. She had only seen the school and flirty side of him.

Kushina just sighed as she watched the scene before her. She looked at Naruto. "Yes mom?" he asked, realizing that she was staring at him.

"I need you to start on the Justice as soon as possible," she stated.

Naruto stared at his mother. "What, but…"

"No buts," Kushina stated. "I want Chifuyu to have her IS as soon as possible."

"I am not done with my current projects," Naruto replied, a bit annoyed.

Kushina nodded. "I know, but I know you can do it," she said with a smile. "So, hop to it."

Naruto nodded and headed out of the room toward his lab. Chifuyu watched him leave turned and turned toward Kushina.

Kushina smiled, "well now, let me show you where you'll be staying."

Chifuyu nodded and the pair started to walk out of the room. "I will join you," Jiarya said and hurried to catch up.

He made it to the door, only to have Kushina kick him in the face. "No way in hell, pervert" she yelled.

Chifuyu looked down at Jirarya and shook her head. The pair headed out of the office and toward the house at the back of the complex. Kushina lead Chifuyu inside and up the stairs. There were three rooms in the house and she noticed that one door was ajar. The room had dark blue walls with orange trim. She saw large IS designs on the walls.

"That must be Naruto's room," Chifuyu thought, as they walked past.

Kushina led her to the room on the far end of the hall. It was a very nice room with a large desk and bed that looked very comfortable.

"This will be your room while you are here," Kushina stated. "Make yourself at home. If you need me I will be right next door."

Chifuyu nodded and Kushina gave her a smile before leaving Chifuyu to unpack. Chifuyu looked around the room and set her luggage on the bed. She left the luggage in her room and walked back toward Naruto's room. She walked inside and looked around. She saw a fullsized bed near the far wall. There was a matching dresser and desk in the room. The room itself was a mess. Papers were thrown everywhere. IS designs hung on the wall overlapping each other.

"I should have expected this," Chifuyu stated as she looked around the room. She quickly left the room and headed back to her own. She smiled a bit; glad she was able to secretly learn a bit more about Naruto.

-With Naruto-

Naruto walked into the house, dead tired. He had spent the entire day working on the Justice and getting it started for fabrication. He had the basic metals he wanted and had ordered the other parts he needed. Next, he worked on finishing the power distribution between the IS core and his GN drive on the Blue Tears. Finally, he had done some work on the Freedom and was able get the beam weapons started. Now, he was trudging home after a long day.

He walked inside, headed to his room, and dropped off his stuff onto his desk. He grabbed his towel that was hanging on the door and headed toward the bathroom, eager to take a nice long shower. He opened the bathroom door and started to undress. He was halfway through taking off his shirt when he heard the shower curtain open. He quickly turned his shirt half way above his head, to see who it was.

Standing in front of him, in all her naked glory, was Chifuyu. Naruto froze in place as he stared at her. Chifuyu stared back at the nearly shirtless blonde and balled her fist. The last thing Naruto saw, was Chifuyu's fist flying toward his face.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw a white ceiling. He was lying on the ground in the bathroom, half naked, without a clue as to how he had gotten there. He slowly got up off the ground and looked around.

"What the hell hit me?" Naruto thought to himself as he sat up. "The last thing I remember was coming into the bathroom, then nothing." He looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Naruto shook his head as he stood up. He told himself that whatever he forgot was not important and he needed to take a shower as quickly as possible.

Naruto stepped out of the shower ten minutes later and headed into his room. He sighed to himself as he looked around the mess he called a room. He quickly found a clean pair of boxers and was soon dressed. He sat down on his bed and slowly his eyes began to close. He crawled under his blankets as sleep overtook him.

-A few days later-

Naruto sat at his work bench, his eyes blackened and half closed. For the last few days he had been working himself into the ground trying to get all of his projects done. He had made headway on all of them, but he still had a lot of work to do.

He wiped the sweat from his face as he finished calibrating the power usage for the Blue Tears and had finally started the installation of the GN drive. He had spent most of yesterday creating the core of the GN drive. It was grueling work. The process was fairly simple, in theory, but in practice it was a completely different can of beans.

He first had to make sure all the particles used to create the core, were correct. Many of the particles were in gas form and the gases were very hard to come by. Next, he had to prepare the gas chamber so the gases would mix properly. After that, he had to link all this to the particle spinner he had created to make the core. After everything was set up, he had to manual control the partical spinning until it reached over 3000 rotations. It took nearly sixteen hours to complete the particle compression into the GN drive core.

Once he had finished completing the core he had to transfer the core to the casing without losing any particle or compression. This was a slow process as well. Lining up the casing so that when he disconnected the particle spinner, the core casing would fall and lock into place. This took him another six hours to complete and so far he had been awake for the last 32 hours.

He sighed to himself as he finished mounting the GN drive outer case to Blue Tears. He smiled at his handwork and looked over toward the GN drive core. Now all he had to do was place the core into the main drive and connect the power linkage to the core.

"Almost done," Naruto said to himself as he sat down next to the Blue Tears. He looked over at the newly created core and smiled. While he sat there he didn't notice Cecilia and Tatenashi walk into the office. They wanted to surprise him with a picnic lunch. Tatenashi smiled at Cecilia and pointed toward the working Naruto.

It had been a week since they had last seen Naruto. He had been very busy working on all his projects. Now with the addition of building the Justice, he had less time on his hands to spend with either of the girls. Cecilia was the one who spent the most time with him due to the fact she was helping upgrade the Blue Tears. Tatenashi wasn't able to get away from work testing the prototype IS at all, as of recently, so, the pair had gotten together and made their "get together with Naruto" plan.

"He seems to be resting," Cecilia said, as they watched Naruto.

Tatenashi smiled. "That's better for us," she replied. "We can jump him without worry."

Cecilia nodded and the pair silently made their way to the blonde. They stopped a few feet away from Naruto. Tatenashi held up three fingers and slowly counted down. Once she reached zero, the pair jumped Naruto. The tackled him and held him tight.

Naruto didn't move. The pair noticed this immediately. Cecilia looked at Naruto, concerned. "Naruto," she called. No answer. She shook him a bit to try and wake him, but he didn't respond.

"I'll call the ambulance," Tatenashi stated as she pulled out her phone. Cecilia nodded as she looked down at the unconscious Naruto, praying that he was ok.

**That is chapter 13 my friends. I am very sorry for the delay. I just couldn't find the right words to write for this story as well as my others. I really glad I was able to get this chapter out and really happy where it going. The next few chapters will focus on Naruto and a certain female teacher, lol. When you read this chapter please tell me what parts were good and what parts I could improve on. This is the unedited chapter due to the fact I wanted to get it posted as soon as I was done writing so if the grammer and spelling sucks at least you know why. Please read and review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and started to slowly sit up. "Why do I feel like I been hit by an IS head on without any protection." He stated as he looked around. He found himself in a white room that smelled of disinfectant.

He started to remove the covers from his body when a Tsunade walked in. "Don't think about it brat." She ordered as she quickly walked over and forced Naruto to lie back down. "You need to rest."

Naruto frowned and tried to get out of the bed, "I'm fine," he said with annoyance in his voice. "I don't need to be here."

Tsunade pushed him down onto the bed and glared directly into his eyes, "You are to stay in bed," she stated coldly. Naruto quickly nodded in agreement knowing full well that Tsunade only have that look when she was being completely serious. "Now hold still I need to do a check up."

Naruto lay there silently as Tsunade went through his check up. He wondered how he ended up in the hospital bed in the first place. The last thing he remembered was finishing the GN drive for Blue Tears and closing his eyes for a short rest. Next thing he knew he was laying on the hospital bed.

Naruto turned and looked at Tsunade as she finished his check up, "Hey Baa-Chan how did I end up here?" he asked her. "The last thing I remember is finishing the GN drive for Blue Tears."

Tsunade looked at her grandson, "You were found passed out in your lab," she replied with a frown. "You passed out due to overworking yourself."

Naruto nodded as he looked up at the ceiling, "So that what happened." He replied with clarity. "So what now?"

Tsunade smiled, "You will be able to go home later today, but you need to take it easy on work. You won't be able to work for the next three days." She said.

"WHAT!" Naruto shouted in anger, "What do you mean I can't work! I have things to finish, the Freedom need to be finished along with the Justice and the upgrades to the Blue Tears."

Tsunade pulled Naruto into a choke hold and squeezed, "I said no work I mean no work." She stated as she tightened her hold, "Or I will make sure you can't work."Naruto struggled for air and quickly tapped on Tsunade arm in submission. Tsunade just smiled and let go of the Naruto.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he asked her as breathed as much air into his lungs.

"I would never kill you," Tsunade replied as she looked over his charts, "I would just beat you within an inch of your life."

"I fine with that but you will be the one to nurse him back to health," a voice said from the door. Tsunade and Naruto turned, seeing Kushina standing there.

"Mom," Naruto stated with a hint of annoyance.

"You know I love you," Kushina stated as she walked in. "But I have to agree with Tsunade. No work for you. It is our fault you over worked yourself and I don't want it to happen again.

"But.." Naruto started to say but Kushina cut him off.

"You are not allowed work," Kushina said with authority. She gave him a worried look, "I don't want to see you work youself ragged."

"Mom," Naruto replied with a sad look on his face. "I sorry for making you worry, but I need to keep working."

Kushina smiled and sat down next to her son, "I know you do, but you need to take a break, please for me."

Naruto just sighed, "Ok no working on IS unless absolutely necessary."

Kushina gave her son a hug, "That is all I ask," She replied as she held her son

-A few hours later-

Naruto walked into his home a few hours later. Tsunade had given him more specific orders on his taking a break from working. He basically couldn't do anything dealing physical work on IS, but he could do computer work. He didn't like that rule but it was better than not working at all.

He saw no one in the house and smiled. He planned on just changing into his work clothes and then head to his lab to continue his work. Naruto ascended the stairs and headed into his room. He went straight for his computer and started to pull up the designs for the Freedom and his other projects.

"What are you doing?" a voice said from across the room. Naruto quickly turned his head and saw his mother standing in his doorway.

"Hi." He said in bit of a daze.

"Welcome home Naruto," Kushina said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better," Naruto stated still frozen in place. His mind trying to make a plan so he could go back to work.

"So any plans for today?" Kushina asked with a sweet town to her voice.

Naruto just smiled, "_Oh crap,_" he thought as he tried to think of something to say.

"You weren't planning on heading to your lab were you?" Kushina ashed.

Naruto quickly shook his head, "Of course not." He replied with a forced laughed, "I just planned on just playing some games on my computer. Need to get going on my Elo for League."

Kushina gave Naruto suspicious look, "Is that so?" she replied, "Do you mind if I watch you play."

"Sure," he replied as he tried to close everything and pulled up League of Legends. Kushina had walked over just in time to see the League log in window to be showing on the screen. She looked over the screen then looked to her son, who just gave her a big smile.

Kushina looked at the screen than back at Naruto, "Before you start do you mind if I check something?" she asked him calmly. Naruto nodded and moved out of the way, so Kushina could get at the computer. She quickly began to type and Naruto watched in horror as she pulled up all the things she had closed.

"So playing league were you?" she stated a bit of anger in her voice, she turned to face him, the blue prints for the Freedom on his screen. Naruto just stood there trying to think of what to say. Kushina looked at her son and sighed, "You are not to work on IS today, you know that."

"But…" he started to say but Kushina held up her hand to silence him.

"You are not to work on IS at all," Kushina stated in cold voice. "You are not to work on any designs, parts, or anything that has to deal with IS. Since clearly I can't trust you to stay away from IS on your own I will have to have someone watch you."

"I don't need a baby sitter." Naruto replied as his anger grew. "I feel just fine."

Kushina looked at her son, "You will do as you're told or I will allow Tsunade to give you a training session." She stated. Naruto just glared a bit at Kushina but nodded.

"Fine," Naruto replied as he sat down on his bed.

Kushina got up from Naruto computer and headed out of her room. She hated when she had to yell or argue with him. It hurt her, but she knew it need to be done. If he kept working at the pace he was at when he black out, something worse could happen to him. She didn't want that at all.

Kushina entered the kitchen and saw Chifuyu eating took the seat across from Chifuyu and sighed. "So I take it Naruto wasn't happy about not being able to work." Chifuyu stated as she to a swig of beer.

Kushina just nodded, "He just won't listen when it comes to IS." She replied with sadness. "He like his father, in that aspect. If something interest him enough he will strive to be the best at it no matter what. Even working himself to the bone. " Chifuyu nodded in agreement. She had seen Naruto when he got into one IS moods and it took a lot to get him out of it. Kushina sighed. "Knowing Naruto, he will try to find a way to go work on his IS projects."

"I can watch him for you." Chifuyu replied.

Kushina looked up with large diamonds in her eyes, "Really?" she asked with excitement.

"Yes," Chifuyu stated only to be pulled into a bear hug by Kushina.

"Thank you!" Kushina stated with happiness. "Oh thank you."

Chifuyu tried to get Kushina to let go, "No problem," she stated afters she escaped from Kushina grasp.

Kushina just smiled, "Now I don't have to worry about him doing something stupid." She stated as she stood up. "Well take care of my son for me. I have to get back to work. "

Chifuyu watched as Kushina rushed out of the house leaving Chifuyu alone in the kitchen. Chifuyu shook her head and finished her beer before heading to go check on Naruto. She walked over and entered Naruto room to find him sitting at his bed an art board in his hand.

"So what you up to?" she asked him making him drop his pencil in surprise.

Naruto looked at Chifuyu a scowl on his face, "Just goofing around," he stated and went back to drawing.

Chifuyu stood behind Naruto and looked at what he was drawing. She saw that it was a schematic for a new IS. She shook her head, "You're not supposed to be working on anything related to IS." She stated.

"I not working on an IS," Naruto replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "I just drawing."

"You're drawing an IS design," Chifuyu stated and took the art board away from Naruto. She looked over the drawing and saw the calculations covering the sides of the paper.

"Just leave me alone, "Naruto said as he stood up and walked over to his computer. Chifuyu watched as he started his computer. Chifuyu just shook her head and walk over to Naruto.

She quickly made a fist and punched Naruto on the top of his head, "Stop being a brat!" she stated as Naruto held his head in pain.

-SB-

Cecilia walked toward Kushina office wanting to know how Naruto is doing. She reached the office door and knocked lightly. She didn't receive an answer at first and Cecilia start to fidget. Suddenly Kushina voice rang though the door inviting Cecilia inside.

Cecilia smiled and quickly entered the office to find Kushina working on some paperwork. "Ms. Alcott," Kushina stated not looking up from her paperwork.

Cecilia was quiet for a few moments, "Well I was hoping you could tell me how Naruto is doing?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Kushina set her pen down and looked up at Cecilia, "He is doing well," Kushina stated with a small smile on her face.

Cecilia let out a sigh of relief, "That's good." She stated with a smile, "Will he be able to work on the Blue Tears with me? He told me I could help him finish the upgrades after he finished the new part for Blue Tears."

Kushina frowned, "Unfortunately Naruto is unable to work on the Blue Tears at this time, "she stated, "His doctor has order that he rest for the next few days. He is not allowed to work anything related to IS during that time."

Cecilia nodded, "That unfortunate," she replied. She looked at Kushina a slight blush spreading across her face. "Would it be ok for me to visit Naruto?"

"Of course you can," Kushina stated, "I think he would like that."

Cecilia nodded a smile gracing her face. She quickly exited the office and headed toward Naruto's home. As she walked she failed to notice someone walking up behind her.

"Cecilia," a voice stated, making Cecilia jump. She quickly turned and Chelsea her maid standing before her.

"Chelsea what is it?" Cecilia asked a bit annoyed and embaressed about what had just occurred.

"I have just received a call from home," Chelsea stated quietly. "They wish to speak with you."

Cecilia frowned, "What do they wish to talk with me about?" she asked.

"They are wondering when you will be returning home with the upgraded Blue Tears?" Chelsea replied. "The deadline for the upgrades to be finished is fast approaching and they don't want the upgrades to go over budget."

Cecilia nodded and sighed in annoyance at this. Since Naruto is now unable to work on anything related to IS for the next two weeks the upgrades will not get finished. She needed the upgrades finished so she could do what she wanted for the rest of the time off school. "I am heading over to Naruto's and I will ask him when the upgrades will be done." Cecilia stated, "I let you know once I return."

Chelsea smiled, "So you're going to see you man," she said with a sultry tone to her voice, "Well remember use protection if you get all hot and heavy, but remember to ask about the Blue Tears when you are resting."

Cecilia blushed at her maid's comment, "Ch..Chelsea do not say such things," she stated as her mind began to wonder. Chelsea watched as Cecilia went off into dream land a perverted looked coming upon her charges face.

Chelsea just tapped Cecilia on the forehead bringing her out of her trance, "Don't you have someplace to go?" she stated with a sly smile.

Cecilia quickly turned around and walked away, a blush still gracing her face. "I will see you at our place," She stated and headed toward Naruto home. Chelsea watched her walk away and giggle before heading on her way.

-SB-

Cecilia reached the front door of Naruto's home and knocked. She waited patiently for someone to open the door. She could hear the sound of someone in the house coming toward the door. She used the time to fix her hair and make sure she was looking her best.

The door opened and Cecilia smiled only for her expression to turn to shock as she the last person she expected to answer the door. "What do you want?" Chifuyu asked the shocked Cecilia, a bored expression on her face.

"Orimura-Sensai," Cecilia said, the surprise evident in her voice, "What are you doing here?"

Chifuyu looked down at Cecilia, "Why are you here?" she asked in annoyed.

"I..I came to see Naruto," Cecilia stammered out quickly. Chifuyu nodded and let Cecilia inside.

"Naruto!" Chifuyu shouted, making Cecilia jump. "Get your ass down here."

Naruto appeared at the bottom of the stairs and annoyed look on his face. He saw Cecilia standing in the hallway and he smiled. "Hi Cecilia," he said as he reached her. "It's nice to see you."

Cecilia looked at Naruto and tackled him to the ground, "You're ok," she stated as she tried not to cry. She was so happy that he was ok and not seriously hurt. Naruto just looked at the Cecilia and hugged her back.

"Yeah I fine," Naruto replied with a smile as her stroked Cecilia hair. Cecilia just sighed in contemptment and snuggled into Naruto chest.

"Get off each other before I separate you two," Chifuyu stated in annoyance. Cecilia quickly got off Naruto a large blush on her face. Chifuyu looked at the pair before her and sighed. "I will be in the kitchen if you need me."

Naruto got up off the floor and lead Cecilia to the front porch. "So what brings you here?" he asked as he sat down on the porch swing.

Cecilia sat down next to him and leaned her head onto Naruto's shoulder, "I just came to make sure you were ok," she replied with a small smile on her face.

"Well I very happy you came to see me," Naruto stated with a sigh, "I need a distraction from doing nothing."

Cecilia looked at Naruto, "Why that?" she asked the curiousity in her voice.

"I been ordered my Kaa-chan and Baa-chan have ordered me not to work on anything related to IS at all for a while," Naruto replied with a sigh. "I feel fine. I have to projects to finish."

Cecilia nodded, knowing all too well which projects he needed to finish. She looked Naruto in the eyes, "Then why don't you work on it without them knowing?" She stated.

Naruto nodded, "That was the plan but Chifuyu is watching me like a hawk. " he replied, "I won't even get close to the labs."

Cecilia nodded, a plan starting to form in her mind. She looked at Naruto and gave him a quick kiss. "I will be right back." She stated and headed into the house. Naruto watched her leave his mind still reeling from the kiss.

Cecilia walked through the house and found Chifuyu sitting at the kitchen table a beer in her hands. She was reading over some reports when Cecilia came into view.

"What do you want?" Chifuyu stated as she set down her holo reader.

"Naruto and I are headed out to town," Cecilia stated with a smile, "We are going to the movies so he won't be back for a while."

Chifuyu looked at Cecilia with a unreadable look on her face, "That fine," she stated as she picked up her holo reader, "Just don't go near the IS labs."

Cecilia smiled, "We won 't," she replied and ran out of the house. She found Naruto still seated on the porch swing. She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward his car. "Let's go."

Naruto looked at her in amazement, but he quickly smiled, "Let's go," he stated and started his car and drove off.

-SB-

A lone figure walked through the IS lab buildings an evil smirk on his face. He name was Mizaki, one of the IS designers that worked there, but he was fed up with not being recognized for his work. He been there for years and none of his designs had made it to the table.

"I'll show them," he stated as he reached his destination, Naruto Namikaze private lab. He had gotten in contact with a rival IS company and they told him if he could bring them something that would make them bigger the Konoha Industries they would build his designs.

Mizaki knew that the best designs from the company came from Naruto and his father. Unfortunately all of Minato Namikaze's designs were under lock and key in his wife's office. Naruto on the other hand were all kept in his lab. So all Mizaki had to do was copy all of Naruto's designs and he would be golden.

He entered the lab quickly and silently. He looked around and saw all the different IS parts all around, "what a mess." Mizaki said to himself as he walked around looking for the main computer. He saw the several half-finished IS and snorted, "I can design better IS in my sleep."

He finally found what he was looking for; "He we go," Mizaki stated and inserted a flash drive into the computer. He started tried to access all the files on the computer, but nothing came up. It took him several minutes to bypass most of the firewalls. He smiled evilly, finally his hard work was going to be appreciated and he would take the IS world by storm with his amazing designs.

Suddenly the sound of a door opening pulled Mizaki out of his thoughts. He heard the sounds of someone coming into the lab, "Crap," he said as he looked for a place to hide, "I thought no one was coming to the lab."

Mizaki hid behind a large pile of IS parts near the computer and watched to see who was coming. He frowned when he saw Naruto with the girl from England enter the lab. They seemed to be talking and laughing about something. Mizaki just sighed to himself, all he had to was wait for them to leave and he would grab the flash drive and he would be home free.

-SB-

"So what is left to do on the Blue Tears?" Cecilia asked as they walked into the lab.

Naruto just smiled, "It shouldn't take long," he replied, "Just need to finish installing the GN drive and then calibrate the weapons to run on the GN drive."

Cecilia nodded, "Sounds good," she said as the Blue Tears came into view. "It will be nice to test it out once you're done."

Naruto nodded and walked over to his computer, "I glad you're looking forward to it." He stated as he started to pull up the scemeatics of the upgrades. Suddenly he stopped when he noticed a status bar on the screen. He checked quickly what was downloading and saw that someone was copying all his designs. "What the hell?" he stated and canceled the download. He looked around and saw a flash drive plugged in. He pulled it out and frowned.

Cecilia noticed this and walked over, "what wrong?" she asked him as he looked over the flash drive.

"Someone was tried copy my designs," he said the anger evident in his voice.

Cecilia frowned, she looked around and didn't see anyone, "Maybe you left the flash drive in and were copying the files when you passed out." She said but Naruto shook his head.

"This is not my drive," he stated. Naruto took a look around and didn't see anyone when he watched as Cecilia suddenly freezes. Naruto turned and saw one of the IS designers standing there with a gun pointed at them.

"Well looks like I have been found out," he stated with a crazed look on his face. "Now Naruto, if you be so kind and continue the download of your designs I will let your pretty little friend live."

"Damn you Mizuki," Naruto stated.

Naruto glared at Mizuki and slowly walked over to his computer. He inserted the drive into the computer and started to type quickly. Naruto started the download, but was putting in dumbie files on the drive that he could track Mizuki later. Cecilia watched as Naruto worked and saw that Mizuki's attention was on Naruto. She reached behind her and found a wrench. She picked it up and looked at Mizuki.

"Hey," she called out making Mizuki look at her.

"What is it blondie?" Mizuki stated in annoyance.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him.

Mizuki looked at her and chuckled, "It quite simple," he stated with an evil grin, "I just want to."

Naruto turned and looked at Mizuki, "You're a sick bastard." Naruto shouted at Mizuki.

"Shut your mouth," Mizuki stated, "You have no right to talk to me. I worked my life designing IS and I get nothing, while you get your way. Well now it my turn."

While Mizuki ranted Cecilia threw the wrench at him. It hit him in the arm and he turned toward Cecilia, "Stuipd bitch," he cried and leveled his gun at her.

"NO!" Naruto cried and ran at Mizuki. He tackled Mizuki to the ground and got rid of the gun Mizuki was holding.

Mizuki pushed Naruto off and scrambled to find his gun. Naruto followed after him and tackled him to the ground again. Naruto punched him in the face as hard as he could.

"Do not threaten my precious people," Naruto shouted as he beat Mizuki. Naruto kept attacking Mizuki until his face was a bloody mess. Naruto stopped attacking him and sighed in relief. He got up off Mizuki and walked over to Cecilia. "Let's call security they will take care of him."

Cecilia nodded when she suddenly saw Mizuki standing up the gun in his hands. "DIE!" he shouted and fired. Naruto grabbed Cecilia and moved her out of the line of fire, the bullets sailed past them but hit several of his wielding fuel tanks. Naruto and Cecilia were thrown back from the tank explosion

Naruto slowly got up off the ground, his ears ringing from the explosion. He looked around, "Cecilia," he called out but no one answered him. He looked around for Mizuki and saw that he had left, taking the flash drive with him.

Naruto slowly got up and looked at the damage that explosion had caused. Most of the spare IS parts were destroyed, but most of his main projects were still intact. He walked slowly forward when he heard someone moan. Naruto turned and saw Cecilia laying a few feet away from him not moving.

"Cecilia!" Naruto cried and ran over to her. She was badly hurt, she had severe burns from the explosion all over her legs. She was barely breathing and was covered in debris. Naruto held Cecilia in his arms, tears flowing down his face. "I so sorry,"

Suddenly the lab doors open and fire fighters ran inside. Kushina followed in right behind them and ran over to Naruto and Cecilia, "What happened?" she asked as she looked over the damages.

"Mizuki tried to steal my designs," Naruto stated as he slowly stroked Cecilia's hair. "He had a gun and had me download the files for him, but I have him false files that can be tracked when loaded to a computer. Cecilia threw a wrench at him and I tackled him to the ground. I thought I took him down but he got back up and fired the gun at us. He hit the wielding tanks instead."

"Take Cecilia to hospital," Kushina told Naruto, "I take care of everything else."

Naruto slowly nodded and the Medical Unit rushed in and put Naruto onto a gurney. Naruto followed Cecilia out of the lab holding her hand the entire way. "I make him pay," Naruto said as they walked, "I make sure he feels so much pain for hurting you."

Naruto made sure that Cecilia was loaded into the ambulance and slowly turned. He saw that he was face to face with the Head of Security for Konoha Industries, Yugao Uzuki. She looked Naruto at Naruto with concern, "So what are you going to do?" she asked him

Naruto gave her a serious look, his eyes burning with anger, "I am going to find Mizuki and end him," Naruto stated and started to walk away. Yugao watched him leave and started to follow

** That is chapter 14, rewrite, I was reading over you review and I had to admit that many of you were right. I had too many plot holes in this chapter and I didn't like how it ended. This morning I was very happy with this chapter but after looking it over all day I came to the conclusion, with your guys help, that I need to fix some things in this chapter. I am really grateful for all you feedback you gave for the first version of the chapter. I am actually very happy with this chapter and I hope you guys will show me the support of telling me what you think of this version of the chapter. This is the unedited version of the chapter, I wanted you to be able to read it while I get it edited by my awesome sister. So thank you for the feedback and please review.**


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto walked quickly through the Konoha complex toward the IS hanger, his eyes filled with anger and righteous fury. He was going to track down Mizuki and bleed him slowly till there was nothing left. No one hurt his precious people and gets away alive. He was not going to lose anyone again, and he would make damn sure that his family and loved ones were safe.

Naruto threw open the hanger doors and startled all the workers. They watched as he marched down the line of half-finished IS to the Vault, where all working suites were held. He reached the vault door and began to enter his personal code to the Vault.

"Naruto," a voice stated in a calm tone from behind him, "What are you doing?"

Naruto slowly turned from the access screen and looked at the person behind him. It was Yugao Uzuki, the Head of Security for Konoha Industries. She had long purple hair, dark green eyes, and a pretty face. She wore the basic Konoha Industries Security uniform the consisted of a green button up shirt with the Konoha logo on the back and black pants. The clothes hugged her form and anyone would be captivated by her appearance

Naruto just looked at her with dead eyes, "I am doing what must be done," he stated in a cold tone as he finished entering the code to the vault.

Yugao frowned, "Naruto," she replied in a motherly tone as she walked toward him slowly, "I know you feel responsible for what happened to Cecilia, but it was not your fault. It was Mizuki's"

Naruto just nodded his eyes covered by his long bangs. "I know Yugao," he stated in a dead tone, "It is all Mizuki's fault, I just going to make sure he pays."

This made Yugao's frown deepen, "Let me and the security forces take care of him." She replied in a calm tone. "We have a team tracking him as we speak, he will be brought to justice. Go to Cecilia she needs you there when she wakes up."

"I can't see her," Naruto replied in a choked tone as he looked up at Yugao, sadness and anger in his eyes. "I need to end him first before, I can face her!" tears streaming down his face.

Yugao walked over to Naruto and gave him a hug. "It will be ok," she stated in a warm tone as she held him.

Suddenly Yugao felt Naruto fist in her stomach and felt all the air in her body leave her. She slumped against him as her world started to go dark. "I'm sorry Yugao," Naruto whispered to her in a calm voice, "But I am the one who will make Mizuki pay and no one else."

Naruto gently set Yugao on the ground and turned back to the Vault and opened it up. All the lights were off except the one that held the completed Gouf, its blue color shining in the light.

"Hello Gouf," he stated in a cold tone as he accessed the Gouf startup sequence. "Shall we go hunting for Mizuki today?"

He got into the Gouf and began to go over the start up sequence and unlock the weapons. He soon got the system all green and the red eye of the Gouf appeared on the visor. He let a small smile grace his lips as he slowly began to rise into the air. He quickly began to access the security tracking system and waited for Mizuki to look at the designs.

"Show me where you are you little bastard," Naruto stated in an angered tone as he left the Vault and flew into the air above Konoha Industries, the tracking program running at full speed as he waits for the signal.

-SB-

Mizuki burst through the door of his hotel room, 50 miles away from Konoha Industries. He was disheveled condition from his quick get away after the explosion. He hoped that Naruto was severely hurt or even killed.

"The world will be better off with that brat dead." He stated to himself as he sat down on the hotel bed. It was a very dirty hotel room, but it was the only one that didn't ask for identification. So he was sure he was safe.

He pulled out a phone that was given to him by the Phantom Task; a Group that dealt with Stolen IS had offered him a large sum of money for Konoha Industries and a job in IS development.

He quickly dialed the only number in the phone and waited for the answer in glee. "Is the task done," said a female voice on the other line in a cold tone.

She sounded young to Mizuki but he didn't care, "I have," he replied in a superior tone as he looked over the flash drive in his hand. "I have taken all of Naruto Namikaze newest designs."

The girl on the other line was silent, "Were you able to get the designs for the GN drives," she asked in a stoic tone.

"I didn't have time to check," Mizuki replied in a angered tone, "The Namikaze brat walked in on me and I had to get away without checking the content, but I do know that I have gotten many of his designs."

"You were specifically asked for the GN drives designs and manufacturing process," the girl stated in a slightly angered tone. "But the designs are still valuable. You are to come to the designated meeting point as soon as possible."

Mizuki nodded and was about to reply when he heard the person on the other line hung up the phone. He laid on the bed for a few moments a large smile on his face. Just a few more hours and he will get all he deserved. He decided to wait for a bit and relax in the hotel room, dreams of fortune and fame filling his mind.

The next day he woke up fully refreshed and ready for the day. He was headed to the meeting point to give the designs over to Phantom Task and begin his new life. He drove through the town at a leisurely pace and soon drove out of town.

He quickly turned off into the forest area down a dirt road. It was a small dirt road that was winding deeper and deeper into the forest. This would have worried a normal man, but Mizuki was in his own little world that he was not worried at all.

"I going to be rich!" he sang as he drove down the road with a large smile on his face. He drummed on the steering wheel as he drove, when a clearing came into view. His smile grew larger as he pulled into the clearing.

There were three women in the clearing with a large truck parked behind them. The first woman was tall with long blonde hair and red eyes, she wore a revealing red dress that left little to the imaginations.

Next to her was a woman about the same height wearing a business suit, that fit tightly around her form. She had black hair and brown eyes and seemed to be staring longingly at the blonde woman.

Finally there was the last woman, or teenage girl to be exact. She looked like a miniature version of Chifuyu Orimura, but had a crazed look in her eyes. She watched as he exited the car and got glared at him with annoyance.

He stepped out of the car with a large smile on his face. "Hello," he called out in a joyful tone. "Beautiful day today."

The woman in the business suit glared at him in annoyance. "Do you have the data or not?" she asked in commanding tone.

Mizuki just nodded and held the flash drive in his hand. "Of course." He replied with a wicked smile. "Is my payment and new place of work prepared?"

The mini Chifuyu just nodded, "It is ready," she stated in a cold tone, "but we need to verify the data first before anything moves forward."

Mizuki just nodded, "I ready when you are." He replied as he walked toward the trio a computer waiting for him to insert the drive.

"If any of the designs are not up to our standard the deal is off," the woman in the suit stated in a cold tone as she watched Mizuki with a crazed look in her eyes.

"I verify all the data with my life," He replied with superior tone and put the flash drive into the computer and accessed the stolen IS designs.

-SB-

Naruto flew around Konoha waiting for the signal from the flash drive all night; he had not gotten a wink of sleep as he waited for the signal to go active. He had shut off he own tracking device in the Gouf he was flying so he could not be stopped in his mission on finding Mizuki.

He flew over a large forest and watched with a eerie calmness as he waited. Suddenly the signal from the flash drive came in to him and he smiled.

"Found you," he stated in a cold tone and started the Gouf's booster pack and blasted toward Mizuki destination. "You will pay Mizuki, you will pay."

-SB-

The trio looked over the designs as Mizuki waited for their reaction. He knew he had gotten many of the designs and new that they were some of the best Konoha Industries had to offer. They had to admit they Mizuki had gotten many good designs that could be put into production at any time.

"It seems that you have delivered a quality product," the one in the business suit stated in a disappointed tone.

Mizuki just ignored her tone and smiled. "Of course," he stated in an excited tone. "Why would I bring something that is inferior, my money is on the line."

The tall blonde looked at the girl in the business suit, "Autumn," she said as she addressed the girl. "Get the designs to R&D as soon as possible."

Autumn just smiled brightly, "Yes Squall, right away my sweet," she replied in a loving tone and picked up the laptop and took it into the truck.

Mizuki looked at Squall with a serious expression, "So now what?" he asked, "When will I get my money."

Squall just looked at him with a neutral expression and reached into the truck and pulled out a large case. "Here is your payment," she stated and set the payment on the tree stump.

Mizuki walked over to the case and began to open it when suddenly Autumn burst out of the truck with an anger look on her expression. "The damn files are bugged!" she shouted in anger.

The trio glared at Mizuki and the one that looked like Mini Chifuyu began to walk toward him with a deathly glare on her face. Mizuki slowly began to back away when the sound of thrusters filled the air.

They all turned to see a dark blue IS flied into the clearing. It had round shoulders with and heavy boots. It held a beam rifle and shield, the pilots eyes were covered by a visor with one large red eye could be seen.

"Mizuki," the pilot said, the voice very much male. "You are going to pay for your crimes."

Mizuki looked at the IS in fear, knowing that it was Naruto Namikaze before him, angered beyond belief. He didn't know what to do and quickly looked toward the Phantom Task trio. They were running toward the truck, having no reason to stay in the clearing.

Naruto lifted the beam rifle and fired it at the truck, blowing it to smithies. "You three are not going anywhere." He stated in a cold tone as he pointed the rifle at them. "You are going to pay for stealing from my families company."

Squall looked at Naruto with a hint of amusement on her face, "M," she stated in a commanding tone. "Take care of him."

Mini Chifuyu, who was now known as M smiled, "With pleasure." She stated and activated her IS. It was white with a large blue orb covering her eyes. It had a similar design to the Blue Tears, but he could tell it was the latest model.

The white IS charged toward brawled into Naruto's Gouf pushing it into the air. She then pushed Naruto away from her and fired her rifle at him, at nearly point blank range.

Naruto flew back and crashed into the trees below. He looked up and saw the white IS floating above him when suddenly it released bits from it wings and leveled her rifle at him.

"Oh crap!" Naruto stated as he dodged the hail of fire that rained down on him. He weaved through the trees and used them as cover, firing back at the White IS ever chance he got.

The White IS, just lazily dodged his beams and kept up her rain of lasers and bullets at him. Naruto put his shield in front of him and pushed himself into the air finally getting out of the tree line. He was about to start his counter attack when he was hit with a laser from behind.

He quickly dodged another blast and saw the bits the White IS had deployed were following him, and saw that the White IS was moving as well, making it harder for him to even try to get an attack off.

"Damn it," He stated to himself as he tried to get an attack in but all he could do was dodge. The White IS pilot just didn't let up on her attacks, and he knew she would shoot him down.

Naruto suddenly dropped his beam rifle and continued to dodge, he waited for one of the bits to come into his sight when he unleashed his Whips. He quickly destroyed the bits and began to spin around at high speeds, destroying two other bits.

The pilot of the White IS frown and pulled back, she also pulled back her last three bits and watched Naruto with a careful eye. Naruto took this short retreat as a sign to attack and charged forward. He swung the right whip at her hard and clipped the side of her wing.

She lifted her rifle and fired it at Naruto, making him dodge quickly but he quickly countered with his left whip. He caught the barrel of her rifle and pulled it out hands. "Eat this!" he shouted and brought the other whip down up on the White IS.

She spanned away from the whip and released her bits once again, and fired them at Naruto, pushing him back. He dodged the bits fire and retracted the whips back into the wrists of the Gouf. He ran through his remaining weapons and all he had was his whips, and the sword and shield.

He decided to go with the sword and pulled it out of his shield. He kept his shield in front of him and charged forward, dodged the bit fire as he charged forward. The White IS pilot frowned and began to increase the rate of fire from the bits.

Naruto held his shield firmly in front of him, allowing it to take the blunt bit fire. His personal Shield took a few hits and was slowly dropping but he didn't even care. All he wanted to do was take out the White IS.

He finally got into the White IS guard, "Eat this bitch!" he shouted and brought the blade down across the White IS shoulder to her waist. He watched as she flew back and crash into the trees down below.

"Alright," Naruto thought to himself as he charged toward the White IS as full speed. "Let's finish this bitch off." Suddenly he was blindsided by a large laser blast that knocked him through the trees.

He slowly lifted himself from the ground and looked for his newest attacker. He saw a black IS with eight legs surrounding it, he saw that it had all it blasters pointed at him. "Oh crap." He thought as he was riddled with laser fire.

The new IS did not stop firing at Naruto until all the surrounding area was destroyed. By the time she stopped firing Naruto's Gouf had went into inactive mode and he was trapped under the trees. He tried to stay awake but the force of the broken tree trunks soon made him black out.

-SB-

M looked toward Autumn with a look of anger on her face. "I was doing fine," she yelled at Autumn.

Autumn just sighed, "Squall ordered me to help," she replied in a bored tone. "Now let's go. We need to get back to base to report of this debacle."

M just nodded and flew into the air, took one last look at the area where the Blue IS once resided, then flew into the night. She had a feeling that the pilot was still alive. Whoever it was she was going to destroy them, slowly and painfully.

"Just you wait," she said under her breath as she flew away. "I will make you dead soon."

-SB-

Naruto slowly regain consciousness and tried to move. He felt the tree trunks pushing him into the ground, and the only thing saving him was the Goufs life support systems. He checked the Goufs power supply and saw that he had enough power to get out of the tree trunks.

He activated the Gouf and pushed the tree trunks off himself and flew slowly into the air. It was day light and he quickly checked the date and saw it was the next day. He frowned and flew back toward the clearing, hoping to find any sign of Mizuki and his cohorts.

He landed and scanned the clearing, the destroyed truck remains were still there, as well as Mizuki's car. Unfortunately there were no signs of Mizuki or the IS trio. "Damn it!" Naruto shouted in anger.

He walked over to Mizuki car, when he noticed a hand on the ground he quickly ran over and saw the dead body of Mizuki on the ground. His throught was slit, and a pool of dried blood was under his dead form.

Naruto looked at Mizuki dead form with shock, he fell to his knees and began to shake, all his emotions coming to the surface. "DAMN IT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs into the air.

Soon tears began to flow down Naruto face as he let his feeling overtake him. He let out his feelings of anger, for not being able to protect Cecilia, and not taking care of Mizuki himself. His sadness for nearly losing one of her precious people, and finally all his frustration with the situations.

Naruto stayed in the clearing for a few hours not moving as he finished his emotional outburst. He suddenly heard a ringing and turned to see the Goufs communication systems were going off.

Naruto pulled up the main menu of the Com systems and opened the com channel, "This is Naruto." He said in a tired voice.

"Naruto, thank god, your answered finally." Kushina's voice stated in a relieved tone, which suddenly changed to anger. "What the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed, chasing after Mizuki."

Naruto was silent, "Mom," he stated in a flat tone, as he looked into the sky with tired eyes. "I'm sorry."

Kushina could hear the sadness in his voice, "Naruto," she said in a worried tone, "Where are you? Give me your location."

Naruto just switched the Goufs GPS tracker back on and waited for Kushina to get his location. "Mom, bring a clean-up team." He stated in a flat tone.

Kushina was silent and knew that if he was asking for a clean-up team something bad had happened. "We will be there right away." She replied and closed the connection. Naruto just fell onto his back and stared into the sky, finally letting sleep overtake him.

-SB-

It had been two days since Naruto had went after Mizuki, and he had explained the entire incident to his mother and Yugao. When he first got back to Konoha, Yugao had slapped him across the face for the stunt he pulled, and then pulled him into a hug to help him overcome his pain.

He told them of the battle and how he found Mizuki dead, and that it was probably one of the trio that he saw eailer that did it. Kushina had held him tightly as he described how he found Mizuki body and knew that he was in a bad state. She had ordered him to the hospital wing of the complex and had him checked out.

After he was checked out and given the ok to leave he had made his way to Cecilia room. He entered and found Tatenashi and Charlotte waiting in the room with an unconscious Cecilia. Tatenashi had gotten up quickly and pulled him close, tears streaming down her face.

She had gotten close to Cecilia over that past few weeks she had spent and Naruto. Once she had heard that Naruto had gone after Mizuki she had tried to go after him, but Kushina had stopped her and had her stay with Cecilia.

"You idiot," she cried as tears fell down her face, "You stupid idiot, why did you have to leave us alone. She need you here, with her."

Naruto just nodded as he stroked Tatenashi hair, "I sorry," he said in a sad tone. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Tatenashi just cried into his chest and Naruto just held her close. At that moment he had promised himself that he would never make her or Cecilia cry again. He would always have them smiling.

Now he was sitting in Cecilia room with Tatenashi sleeping against him. He had not left the room in a day and a half. He planned to be there for as long as needed and wanted to be the first face that Cecilia saw. He stroke Tatenashi hair as she slept, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

He looked at Cecilia's unmoving form and hoped she would wake up soon, so he could apologize to her. "I am so sorry," he said to her as she slept.

Suddenly he noticed that Cecilia began to stur. He slowly got up, and set the sleeping Tatenashi onto the bench they were sitting on. Once she was safely set on the bench he rushed over to Cecilia side and held her hand tightly.

Cecilia slowly began to open her eyes, her entire body was in pain and it hurt to move. The last thing she remembered was Naruto running toward her then a loud bang. She looked up and saw Naruto leaning over her, a look of relief and sadness spread across his face.

"Na…Naruto," she stammered out, as she coughed for a dry throught. "Water."

Naruto reached over to the side table where a pitcher of water, poured her a glass of water, added a straw, and held the straw to lips. Cecilia took the straw and sucked the water from the cup and felt her relief in her through.

She finished drinking and looked up at Naruto with a small smile on his face. "What happened?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Naruto was silent for a moment, "Mizuki blew up the lab," he stated in a sad tone, "You were caught in the blast."

Cecilia just slowly nodded, "How long have I been out?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Only a few days," he stated in a warm voice. "The doctors said you will be ok."

Cecilia let out a small sigh of relief happy that she was going to be ok. She looked at Naruto and noticed the distressed look on his face. She squeezed his hand. "Whats wrong?" she asked as he looked away.

"I'm sorry," he stated in a strained voice as he tried to hide his tears from her. "I was unable to protect you."

Cecilia watched as Naruto's body shaked as he cried, "It's not your fault," she stated in a warm tone as she squeezed his hand tighter.

Naruto looked at her with sadness, "But I let you get hurt," he replied in an angered tone. "I was unable to protect you."

"You couldn't have predicted that would happen, "she replied in a calm tone. "I was the one who made you go to the lab in the first place, so it partially my fault."

Naruto just held her hand tightly not wanting to let it go, Cecilia just closed her eyes and enjoyed her time, holding his hand.

-SB-

Three weeks later Cecilia was released from the hospital, and Naruto had not let her side in all that time. He had left most of his IS project on hold as he helped take care of her. Cecilia's maid Charlotte was a bit annoyed that Naruto was trying to take care of everything for Cecilia, even helping her change.

The first time he tried this, Cecilia had turned as red as a beet, but didn't say anything. Charlotte on the other hand would not have any of that and quickly forced Naruto out of the room. Once Naruto was out of the room did he realize what he was about to do and he blushed as well.

This lead to much teasing from Tatenashi, who spent the next several days trying to get Nauto to help her change. She just loved watching Naruto's expression every time she asked him, and was slightly disappointed when he thought of different excuses.

"He so cute when he flustered." She said to herself as she watched him run. "but I will get him to do it one day."

Naruto was about to go help Cecilia when he was blocked by Charlotte, "Go home," she ordered as she stood in front of Cecilia's room.

Naruto just looked at her with confusion, "Why?" he asked in an annoyed tone. "I am here to help her get better."

Charlotte just sighed and shook her head. "She will be fine without you for a day." She stated as she poke him in the chest. "Now go or I will have to get my broom."

Naruto nodded and turned to leave, but stopped, only to be shoed away from the apartment. Naruto was sighed and walked toward his new lab. Many of his projects have been moved to the new lab and the security was increased.

He put his hand onto the hand scanner and waited for it to register his identity. He soon entered the lab and turned on the lights. He saw the Blue Tears and Strike Freedom waiting to be worked on when suddenly he heard the sound of someone working on the Justice.

Naruto turned and saw the familiar red hair of Tabane as she worked on the Justice. She was working on the wings when she turned and saw Naruto. "NARU-CHAN!" she shouted and tackled Naruto to the ground in happiness.

** Hello everyone, here is the next chapter of IS Naruto Freedom. I am very sorry for the long update time. I just couldn't get the right idea for this chapter but I was soon inspired by IS 2 anime season it made me happy and got the idea's flowing. I want to thank you all for the support you have given me and this story and for all the continued support you give me. I plan to focus on this story as well and write one shots for Love of the League. I will also try to update all my stories as soon as I can get a chapter idea for them. Also can you guys please tell me what you think of this story as a whole. It is something I really would like to know. Please read and review**


	16. Author Note

Hello everyone, this is alchemist19. I want to thank you all for the terrific support and encouragement for all the stories I have written. I really am grateful for all that you have done, my it be reviews, or just reading and enjoying it.

Everyone has been such a encouragement and helping me improve my writing. I have changed a lot since I first started writing my own stories With Shinigami at Mohara, Lieutenants Love Ninja, Love of the League, and all other stories that I have written. You are all amazing and wonderful people who have made me a better writer then I have ever could have been by myself.

Now for some bad new, First I am a Mormon, and I have decided to serve as a Missionary for two years. So I will be unable to update any stories at that time so all my stories will be on hiatus. I am very sorry for all those who wanted to read more of my stories, but I feel that this is what I need to do.

For those who want, You guys can use the basic premise of my stories to make your own, or even write what you want to happen during the story. I would love to see where you would take the stories. Again I want to thank you all for everything you done for me and for reading my stories.

Sincerely

Alchemists19


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